Phoenyx Bloodryn
by Nickel City
Summary: Only rated that due to swearing. Tell me if it should be PG or whatever. Anyway, this is a story I've been working on forever. I'll do each chapter according to each disc so it may seem to be a very long chapter. So please, R


By Nicki Quinn  
3-15-03  
to  
  
Final Fantasy 8- Phoenyx Bloodryn  
  
Nicki stumbled across the frozen lake. She had no energy left and was ready to freeze to death. She needed to find somewhere to go and quick. She pushed herself enough to make it to the powdery snow and collapsed against a tree. She looked around helplessly as she watched her vision blur. She could see her breath against the foggy wind. It began to snow lightly and she knew she was doomed. There was no way out of this.  
  
Then, against the White Mountain far to her left, she spotted something moving against the bleakness. She wanted to call out but she had no energy left. The object moved through the snow swiftly, seeming to come her way. When she finally, recognized it, she wished she'd die right now. She couldn't be seen by the enemy, not now. Nicki peered down at her feet which were out in front of her but she couldn't see them, they were covered with snow. Nicki pulled her black hood over her head and prayed she would blend with the snow and the tree trunk.  
  
Nicki watched the person for hours it seemed. She wanted to glance at her watch but she doubted it was working and she couldn't move. The figure was across the small pond of ice and they were sitting on a rock. Soon after they had stopped to sit, a wolf looking creature had walked up and sat next to the person. The wolf was bright red, almost like the color of the sun and blood mixed together. The person was dressed in a grey cloak with red markings. He had blonde hair and a scar between his eyes and down his nose. After watching him for a while, Nicki knew exactly who it was.  
  
The enemy must have known she was coming as a single man to surprise the army. But who would have bailed on her? Nicki bit her lip as the snow stopped falling. She worried now because she could see him more clearly and if that was true, he could most likely see her too. The wolf finally got up from its resting and scanned the area. He stuck his nose in the air, able to smell more now that he snow had stopped. The man looked up at watched the wolf as it began to growl. Seifer pulled out his gunblade and stood up.  
  
"Good boy, now where is she?" He asked standing up.  
  
He followed the gaze of the wolf across the pond towards the path by the forest. Nicki knew she was caught and if she didn't go now she would be dead. Even if she got up now, either Seifer or the wolf would get her. It was worth trying to escape though.  
  
Nicki jolted up as quickly as possible when she saw Seifer glance away and began running down the path. The wolf howled and took off after her. Seifer turned and grinned. Seifer took off running after the wolf.  
  
Nicki was highly trained and wasn't worried too much. He wouldn't kill her, she had too much information with her. Nicki began to empty her coat pockets and stuck them in her pants pockets. She took a quick turn into the forest and off the trail. It was easier to run in her without all of the snow but she had to dodge roots and branches. Slowly, she counted to three and threw her jacket of so it hung on a branch. She jumped onto a huge root and ran along that so they couldn't follow foot prints. She followed the root as far as she could and climbed into the tree. She climbed fairly high until she could barely see her coat.  
  
Seifer stopped next to the wolf that was shredding the jacket.  
  
"She got away?" He asked peering around. The wolf snarled in reply.  
  
"Stupid mutt." He said kicking the dog to the side. It yelped in pain and slowly crept back next to his legs.  
  
"Go find her again. She has to be around here." Seifer said as he picked up the strands of coat. The wolf winced and began to circle Seifer.  
  
Nicki slowly aimed her shotgun. She let loose and the bulled flew through the air. The enemy looked up just in time.  
  
The wolf fell over dead and blood poured out staining the snow around it. Seifer quickly shuffled behind a tree, not even noticing the dead wolf.  
  
"Come out now, I know where you are. You stand no chance." Seifer yelled looking around carefully.  
  
Nicki bit her lip and quietly made her way to the other side of the tree. She snuck down and edged around the corner, she could see Seifer now. He was highly armed and she stood no chance.  
  
She took off running down the path. All he had was the gunblade and she had shotguns. She was at an advantage when far away but close combat, she was dead. Nicki fled farther into the forest. She didn't see Seifer behind her but she knew he was there. She could hear him and she knew he saw her run.  
  
She seemed to have been running for a while now, surprised he had not caught up she stopped. She no longer heard him anymore. She was so cold now, especially without her coat. Nicki glanced around once more and then continued to run.  
  
*--*~~~*--***--*~~~*--*  
  
"Seifer, report. Do you have the girl yet?" Quistis questioned.  
  
"Shut up, I'm right here. She is armed with shotgun. It will only take a little bit longer." Seifer replied clicking the phone off. He shoved it back in his pocket and glance around the tree. There was the girl stopped by the mountain side. She could run no farther.  
  
Seifer walked out from behind the tree, surprising Nicki. She quickly turned around and held the gun at him.  
  
"Don't move any closer. I should kill you now." Nicki stated holding her stance.  
  
Seifer only laughed.  
  
"Go ahead, shoot me. I don't care." Seifer said walking closer. He came only inches away from the gun.  
  
Nicki glared at him.  
  
"I will-" Nicki started.  
  
Seifer quickly grabbed the shotgun and wrenched it out of her hands. He threw it across the opening and into the forest. He grabbed her wrist and held it tight.  
  
"Let's go." He said. Nicki glared at him. She knew she stood no chance and that she should have shot him when she could but she too, was on a mission. She was supposed to find the enemies, 'Secret Weapon'. Though she didn't know the person's name, she would have to find them.  
  
"What do you want me for?" She asked.  
  
"You have information, lots of it."  
  
"How did you find out?" She asked.  
  
"We have our ways. Now shut up." Seifer said pulling out the phone though his still held on to Nicki's wrist. She groaned and wished she would be shot right now. She looked into the forest and looked for her shotgun. If she had any chance of escape, she would need her shotgun.  
  
"Quistis, where the hell are you?" Seifer yelled into the phone.  
  
"Seifer." Quistis replied.  
  
"I got her okay? I'll be back soon." Seifer said as he closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.  
  
"Okay, we're going." He said jerking Nicki forward. She sighed and followed.  
  
Ignoring whatever she said, Nicki tired to keep quiet. She was going to give out to information at all. If he was taking her back to the enemy base, she might be able to get away and still continue her mission. She could steal an enemy outfit and sneak around. The higher the rank outfit, the better.  
  
They walked for a while until they came to the mountain that Nicki had seen Seifer come down. She searched the area for any traces of other members of the enemy but so far she found none.  
  
They climbed over the mountain easily and when on the other side, the base was clearly visible through the clear wind.  
  
"There you are Seifer. You took forever." Zell said waltzing over. Nicki tried to take a chance of surprise and too her amazement, it worked.  
  
Nicki slipped out of Seifer's grasp and began to run down the cement road around the base.  
  
"What the hell?" Zell asked as both he and Seifer began to run after her.  
  
"I'll go after her, head in, tell everyone I'm back with the girl and then sound the alarm. Get the hell away from me now you piece of crap." Seifer explained. Zell nodded and ran back into the base.  
  
Nicki ran for her life. She scanned the area carefully looking for somewhere to hide. She found the dormitories and ran in. She slid against the wall and looked around. Luckily, there was no one around. She slid into someone's room and looked around. There was no one in there either so she grabbed a suit.  
  
"See-D rank, pretty nice." She said putting it on quickly. She pulled her hair back into a tight pony tail and slyly walked out. She pulled a small note card out of her pocket. It read:  
  
Property of Squall Leonhart  
  
Nicki snickered and thought to herself 'Whoever this is, too bad now. I'm Squall.'  
  
She hoped she wouldn't be to obvious. Nicki put the card back in her pocket and looked around. Suddenly, a blaring alarm system rang on and sounded everywhere. Nicki winced and looked around. She turned back after walking down a set of stairs to see Seifer searching.  
  
"Hey you. Seen a girl come around this way?" Seifer asked shouting at Nicki. She nodded and pointed back the direction Seifer had come. He nodded and ran back. Nicki sighed and continued to walk down the hall. She would have to find their main computer system and break in, her specialty. She would get he info she needed, kill the 'Secret Weapon', and get out of here all in twenty-four hours or they would send another man backup.  
  
A girl soon walked up and glanced at Nicki. She walked over and smiled.  
  
"A See-D rank? Pretty good for around here. The name's Selphie. And you are.?" She asked. Nicki stumbled for words.  
  
"Uh.I'm Phoenyx. Or, that is what my friends call me." Nicki replied. It was true, that is what they joked with her back at camp.  
  
"I'm, new around here. I just came." Nicki replied.  
  
"Well then Phoenyx, lemme show you around. I heard they are looking for the girl Seifer brought back. She is supposed to have information about the enemy camps and what they have over there. I think Seifer said she had shotguns so we have to be careful of her." Selphie explained.  
  
Nicki smiled and nodded. She slipped her hands into her pockets and carefully crumpled the note card.  
  
*--*~~~*--***--*~~~*--*  
  
Selphie led Nicki to the food courts where Zell was setting up search parties.  
  
"You four search the dormitories, you three stay with me, Irvine take a group with you and Squall can come with me." He explained.  
  
Nicki bit her lip. That was the guy who owned the clothes she was wearing. Too bad now.  
  
"Thos is the food courts. Here, let me grab Zell and Squall before we leave- " Selphie began.  
  
"No, that is okay." Nicki burst out. Zell had seen her when she and Seifer had walked up. She couldn't blow her perfect cover now.  
  
"Oh, okay. I'll wait and introduce you to people later. Do you know where your dorm is yet?" she asked.  
  
"Uh, no. Not yet. I don't think I have an assigned one yet." Nicki said.  
  
"Then we will go check in with Quistis then. Come on." Selphie said leading her down the hall. Soon after, they came upon another woman.  
  
"Quistis, I have a new student here. Her name is Phoenyx. She is a class See-D but I don't think she has a dorm yet. She don't know her way around either." Selphie explain.  
  
Quistis looked at Nicki oddly.  
  
"New? Ah, I remember now. I was talking to the general and he said you would be coming. He had to go so quickly though I didn't pick up your name. It is again?" She asked.  
  
"Phoenyx, my name is Phoenyx." Nicki said.  
  
"Okay, thanks. Let me check my papers really quick and I will assign you your dorm." Quistis said looking to her clipboard. She jotted down a couple of things.  
  
"Okay, you will be sharing a dorm with Seifer Almasy." She said.  
  
Nicki growled to herself. She was in trouble now. At least they were falling for her disguise though.  
  
"Thank you." Nicki said between breaths.  
  
"Here, I'll finish showing you around and then I'll show you where your dorm is." Selphie said leading Nicki away.  
  
Soon, day became night and the base was quiet. The students had given up but they would still keep an eye out. Selphie had just about finished showing Nicki around and then was bringing her back to the dorms.  
  
"This is your dorm." Selphie said standing with Nicki by the door.  
  
"I'm only a couple rooms down so if you need me, knock. Oh, Squall is also in my dorm so if he answers, don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow morn'. Seifer should get you up. Good night." And with that Selphie left. Nicki slowly walked in. She closed the door and looked around. There was a small table with papers for her and a bathroom. Then there were two doors into two rooms. One of the doors was cracked open a bit, Nicki paused.  
  
"Hey! Who's there?" Seifer shouted from his room.  
  
"Uh, I'm your new dorm mate. The names Phoenyx. I'm going in my room." Nicki shouted back.  
  
"Fine by me." Seifer ended. Nicki was glad he hadn't walked out. She hadn't really thought about the hair yet.  
  
Nicki slid into her room and locked the door. She stripped down to her old clothes and stood in front of the mirror. "I've gotta change my hair." She said to herself as she pulled out a knife. She had fairly long hair so all she had to do was cut it. She pulled her hair tight and slid the knife through. She but her hair so it barely touched her shoulders. She looked so, different. "Good." She thought. Nicki looked against the wall and saw another See-D uniform. It was a dark blue outfit lined with gold, colors of the enemy. She felt horrible wearing these clothes. Nicki grabbed the suit and walked back out into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and put on the new uniform. Nicki slid her shotgun under the uniform and clicked it in place in her belt. She sighed and continued to transfer things into her new attire.  
  
Nicki walked out of the bathroom to see Seifer sitting at the table reading some of her papers. Nicki walked over to the table to grab her papers.  
  
"It's Seifer. I forgot to say." He muttered. "Selphie told me. She told me about everyone." Nicki said grabbing the papers they had delivered for her.  
  
"So, you're new?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And a See-D rank?"  
  
"Yep." Nicki said pausing to see if he would ask more. So far, the hair cut seemed to be working.  
  
Seifer sighed and handed her the paper. He smiled and left back into his room with a wave. Nicki left back into her room. She locked the door, still untrusting of Seifer. She pulled out a pen and decided to fill out the papers. Her name, Phoenyx, her last name.  
  
Nicki paused. What was her last name? Phoenyx.Bloodryn. It sounded good and she doubted anyone here would have that last name. Next, her rank. Nicki wrote down See-D, hoping she could live up to their expectations and pass tests. Nicki continued to fill out the paper work until it was around eleven at night. She finally finished and se the papers on the table. She sighed and got under the covers. Nothing now could blow her cover. Slowly, she fell asleep.  
  
"Phoenyx! Get your sorry butt out of bed!" Seifer shouted.  
  
"I heard you the first time!" Nicki shouted falling out of bed. She pulled her uniform on and got ready. She checked her shotgun and grabbed her paperwork. Nicki pushed the door open to see Seifer waiting for her.  
  
"I had to wit. Do you need breakfast?" He asked. Nicki sighed and nodded.  
  
"Same here. Let's go. Then we can go to class." Seifer said opening the door. As he and Nicki stepped out, they saw Selphie come out of her dorm too. She ran over with a smile.  
  
"Hey, how'd ya sleep?" She asked.  
  
"Good thanks." Nicki replied.  
  
"Seifer, are you going to breakfast with us?" Selphie asked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." He said following the two girls.  
  
"Everyone should be at breakfast so I should be able to introduce them to you. I was new once too. I first met Squall. He is the quiet type so don't mind him." Selphie said.  
  
"Phoenyx, you're See-D rank right?" Seifer asked. Nicki nodded.  
  
"I'll fight you today, it'll be good."  
  
Nicki felt a wave of panic but she replied, "Well, sure." Seifer grinned as they walked on. When they got there, the three of them grabbed a table. As people walked in, Selphie introduced them to 'Phoenyx'. Just then, another man walked in wearing a hat similar to a cowboy's.  
  
"Oh, hey Irvine. Here, I want you to meet someone." Selphie said jumping up. She led Irvine to the table and he sat down next to Nicki.  
  
"And who is this lovely lady?" he asked looking at Nicki. She smirked.  
  
"Irvine, meet Phoenyx, Phoenyx, Irvine." Selphie said. Irvine took Nicki's hand and lightly kissed it.  
  
"A pleasure to meet you." He said looking into Nicki's eyes. She looked down at him pathetically.  
  
"Stop with the mushy stuff you idiot." Seifer said leaning back in his chair. Irvine glared at him and let go of Nicki's hand. After the four of them finished breakfast, they walked into class.  
  
As the group walked in, Quistis stopped Phoenyx by the door. Once everyone was in the classroom, Quistis brought Phoenyx in.  
  
"Class, quiet down now. We have a new student in rank See-D. Her name is Phoenyx." Quistis said walking to the front of the class.  
  
"You may sit between Squall and Seifer. I need to separate them anyway." She said. Nicki fight as she walked to the back of the classroom.  
  
"Ha, I'm gonna see you everywhere now, huh?" Seifer stated leaning back in his chair. Nicki nodded and peered over at Squall. She noticed he had a similar scar to Seifer. She turned back to her dorm mate.  
  
"Hey, that scar-" she said pointing at his, then Squall's. Seifer growled and then looked the other way. Squall looked at her, then at Seifer. He was silent and then looked away.  
  
"You two are quiet. What's up?" She asked.  
  
"Squall." Seifer commented in a rough voice. Squall looked up and nodded. Seifer nodded back and looked away. Nicki sighed and glanced at her computer, then to Seifer. He noticed her confusion so he leaned over and typed in her name and then her rank. He sat back and pecked the enter key. The screen turned red and she was logged in.  
  
"You can skip the tutorials. I'll help you later. Here, ask to go to the bathroom and wait outside. I should come soon after, then we can battle." Seifer said. He grabbed her elbow and shoved her hand in the air. She couldn't back out now. Squall watched suspiciously. Seifer, Nicki, and Squall were the only ones in the back row because Seifer and Squall got in the most trouble. Quistis looked up and came over.  
  
"May I use the restroom." Nicki asked trying to sound sincere.  
  
"Yes, the first on your right down the hall." Quistis replied. Nicki stood up and walked down the rows of desks. She looked back and Seifer winked. Nicki grinned and looked back. She slipped out of the classroom with now worry.  
  
Nicki turned and leaned against the wall. Seifer walked out and closed the door. He grinned.  
  
"Follow me." He said walking down a hallway to the left. They got in the elevator and clicked the bottom button.  
  
"I've been needing to talk to you." Seifer said leaning on the wall and looking at Nicki. She looked up.  
  
"There is an enemy still lose on base. She is about your height with dark blonde hair a little longer than yours with blue eyes. She also carries a shotgun with her. I think she has on a black shirt with dark green pants. She is actually a lot like you. Have you seen her?" He asked. Nicki paused. He either knew about her or he had no clue. She needed to answer.  
  
"No, I haven't. Sorry." She replied. Seifer nodded and was quiet.  
  
"So, where'd you pass for your See-D rank?" He asked. This was easy. Nicki had gotten her See-D rank back at her camp.  
  
"Mission-5." She replied. Seifer laughed.  
  
"That's funny. Me too." He said.  
  
"By the way, do you have a weapon?" he asked. Nicki shook her head.  
  
"Well, I have a spare gunblade back at the dorm. I guess you can have it if you prove to me you can wield it well." Seifer stated. They got off the elevator and walked into the dorms. Seifer burst through his door and motioned for Nicki to follow. His room was a mess. Papers were everywhere and there were blood stains on the floor. Seifer reached down under his bed and pulled out a case. He plopped it on his bed and clicked it open. There, was the most beautiful sword Nicki had ever seen. The hilt, or handle of the sword was exactly like a gun, except for, after the hilt, was a long blade. It shone brightly but was dull where there were traces of blood.  
  
"What's this from?" Nicki asked running her finger up the blade. Seifer stood there and crossed his arms. He was debating on if he should tell her or not.  
  
"Everyone know already so what the heck. I fought with Squall. I shoes not to follow the rules either. I used magic and with this blade, I gave him that scar he burdens. In return, I burden one also. Now, I can never forget that day. Every time I see this scar." Seifer explained pausing.  
  
"I haven't used that blade since." Nicki shoved it back into his hands.  
  
"Use it again." She said staring at him. Their gazes were locked until Nicki backed up.  
  
"I'll use your other one." She said picking it up. Seifer looked up at her, he almost felt nice for the moment. He was ready to cancel what he had in store for her but, he couldn't. Seifer grinned.  
  
"Let's go." He said opening the door of his room as they walked out by the table.  
  
"How are we gonna sneak these around?" Nicki asked before they left the actual dorm.  
  
"Good question." Seifer said. He had tucked his under his gray cloak.  
  
"Here." He said going back into his room. He came out with a black cloak. Seifer tossed it to Nicki and she put it on. It was way too big considering that Seifer was six-two. Nicki slid the gunblade in place and they left.  
  
"The teacher is going to come after us soon. Squall will say something. So, I am gonna lock the door. We can't have her interrupting our battle." Seifer said as they walked into the arena. He locked the doors. It was a huge, empty room with glass walls and doors so anyone could watch the battle. Seifer walked over to the computer and typed in a code. Suddenly, the ground began to change. It became a dirt ground, almost like the peak of a mountain.  
  
"Middle of the arena." He said pulling out his gunblade. Nicki three off the cloak and pulled out the gunblade. Suddenly, she noticed her old dog tags had come un-tucked and were showing now.  
  
"What the?" Seifer began to ask glancing over. Nicki quickly scrambled for the chain and shoved it under her shirt.  
  
"What were those?" He asked walking over. He stood in front of her ready to reach for them but Nicki pulled up the gunblade and tapped the side of the blade on his hand.  
  
"No." She said grinning. Seifer raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Fine." He said. Suddenly, he swung the gunblade around but Nicki blocked it. Both paused to snicker. Just then, they heard a pound on the door. Seifer and Nicki looked up to see Quistis glaring at them while the rest of the class circle around to watch the battle. Seifer looked to Nicki.  
  
"Ready Phoenyx?" He asked taking a step back.  
  
"As ever." She said following him into the middle of the stage.  
  
"No! Seifer, Phoenyx! Stop this now!" Quistis yelled helplessly.  
  
"Phoenyx!" Selphie yelled watching with worry.  
  
"See, I told you she was hot. Phoenyx is gonna kick Seifer's butt." Irvine said with a grin. Rinoa stood next to Squall, watching as Seifer and Nicki met in the center.  
  
"Squall, you have to do something. Seifer will kill her. He almost killed you!" She said looking to Squall. He only sighed and shook his head.  
  
"If Seifer wins, he will get nothing out of this but another year of community service and jail." Squall replied.  
  
Seifer put the tip of the blade towards the ground and motioned to Nicki. She lowered the tip until it met his. Then, they began to walk is a circle, waiting for the other to make the first move.  
  
"Don't stall Seifer." Nicki muttered.  
  
"I'm waiting for the class. Wait and listen." He replied.  
  
Slowly, the class began to chant. It started as a whisper, then grew louder and louder. Seifer grinned and waited until Nicki heard it. They stayed fairly quiet until they suddenly stopped and one kid shouted, "Fight!"  
  
Seifer lunged at Nicki with the gunblade. She easily dodged it and sent the blade crashing into his. Seifer pushed down with all of his strength, overpowering Nicki. So she had to back off.  
  
"I gotta tell ya," Seifer began as they circled again, "that you were a nice girl."  
  
"Were" Nicki asked surprised but sarcastically. Seifer laughed.  
  
"You're not leaving this room alive." He shouted coming after her again. Nicki blocked but suddenly Seifer reached out and took the gunblade from Nicki. She was so surprised she fell back from the blow. Seifer threw the gunblade to the side and looked down at Nicki. She looked up at him with fear. He would kill her.  
  
"No!" Selphie shouted pounding on the glass.  
  
"There goes my next girl." Irvine said sadly.  
  
"Shut up Irvine. This is no time to joke. Seifer really will kill her!" Selphie shouted.  
  
"Squall, do something! Seifer shouldn't be aloud to do this. Not this." Rinoa said grabbing his arm. Squall watched and waited carefully.  
  
Seifer readied for the final blow. He held the blade above his head and then brought it down. Nicki held up her right and hand rolled.  
  
"Seifer!" Squall shouted. The blade sliced Nicki's hand but Seifer stopped, distracted from Squall's voice. Nicki rolled out of the way and ran over to her gunblade. Her world was blurry with pain. She could hardly see. Nicki grabbed the gunblade with her left hand and gripped it tight as she looked up at Seifer. Their eyes met. Nicki quickly looked down at her right hand to see if she could use it at all. The slice went from one side of her palm to the other. Her hand was dripping with blood. The red liquid dripped down of her clothes and stained the dirt. Seifer slowly began to circle again, almost like a hawk. Nicki kept her eyes locked with his and kept her stance solid.  
  
"You. will.die." Seifer said with a laugh. Nicki glared at him and tired to control the pain. Seifer charged but Nicki was ready. She sent the tip of her blade into the palm of his hand and flung his sword across the arena. Seifer froze. Nicki began to come closer until she cornered him against the wall. She put her bloody, right hand on his shoulder and shoved him harder against he wall. She never took her eyes away from his. Nicki pulled back the gunblade and stood strong. Just as she was going to strike, Quistis burst through the door followed by the janitor with the keys.  
  
"Stop now! Both of you!" She shouted.  
  
Quistis grabbed the gunblade from Nicki and looked sternly at both of them. The janitor walked over and picked up the other gunblade.  
  
"You two, mainly you Seifer. Phoenyx, this is unacceptable but you are new. I'll let you go. Now for you Seifer, this is the second person you've tried to kill in here. The blood will never go away. You already know what's coming from this." Quistis said.  
  
"Now both of you to the hospital." She said. Nicki pulled her hand off of Seifer's shoulder and broke the gaze. Seifer looked down at the shoulder of his cloak to see a bloody, smeared handprint. He looked back up to Nicki who was walking off with Quistis. He sighed and followed.  
  
Nicki woke up the next morning in the hospital. She could hardly remember what had happened. She glanced at her hand. It was wrapped up tightly. She noticed her dog tags were still tucked so she was okay. Nicki looked up and suddenly noticed Seifer was sitting next to her bed. She smiled. He looked up and saw she was awake.  
  
"Quistis is making me sit here and make sure that you're okay. That was, a good battle." He said with a grin. He leaned back in his chair and watched Nicki.  
  
"Yeah, it was a good battle.except that you were out to kill me." She said.  
  
"That's why Quistis put me in here. She wants me to apologize. The thing is, you won. And, I swore to kill you but, you're still alive as we both see. I..fell horrible you could say." Seifer continued. Nicki looked at him sweetly.  
  
"No need to feel that way-" Nicki began.  
  
"Yes, I have to. Look, I am going to promise you something to repay your for what I said. I will protect you. I will protect you with my life. We have a mission tomorrow, are you ready?" He asked. Nicki looked at him shocked. She sat up and began to protest.  
  
"But-" She started. Seifer put his finger on her mouth, stopping her.  
  
"Shh. No, I have to do this for you and myself. No buts." He said slowly taking his hand away. Nicki grabbed his wrist and looked at his hand which was wrapped with bandage.  
  
"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you that badly? Are you okay?" She asked looking at the blood that was coming through the Goss.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" he asked. Nicki nodded.  
  
"Good." He said putting his fingers through hers and holding her hand.  
  
"Good." He repeated standing up. He pulled his hand away and walked through the door.  
  
Nicki listened as the door shut, and then opened again. Quistis walked in and sat in the chair next to Nicki. She smiled.  
  
"I'm sorry this happened to you. Hopefully Seifer said his apologies. I'll have to give you this list of rules because this would be on there. You aren't in any trouble because you didn't do anything but, we do have to hold to punishment, You will have a year of community service with Seifer. I'm sorry things worked out this way. Get some more sleep and around noon, meet me in the classroom. I'd like to talk to you more." She said. Quistis smiled an left. Soon, Selphie burst through the door and nearly fell on Nicki. She smiled sweetly.  
  
"Oh I'm so glad you're alright. Stupid Seifer, he could've killed you. You kicked his but though Phoenyx. Everyone is talking about you. You and Seifer are the talk of the school." She said.  
  
"School? This isn't an army base?" Nicki asked surprise. Selphie looked at her oddly.  
  
"Base? No, no. You've got it wrong. This is where we train people, it's a school. Then we go on missions to go up in ranks or to just train. Tomorrow, we are going over the mountain to the enemy base. The one girl that is from the enemy is still on campus Seifer says. Everyone is looking for her." Selphie explained.  
  
Nicki bit her lip. So this wasn't an army base but they were even stronger than what they had guessed from an army. And Selphie had mentioned a mission to go down to her base. Was she going to have to fight against her own people? Oh no, it was getting late. She was supposed to call the base last night to tell them that she was okay but she was taken here. She had to get back to the dorms quick.  
  
"I have to go to the dorms. I have to." Nicki said jerking up and nearly falling out of bed. Selphie shoved her back down.  
  
"No, you don't understand. I'm fine." Nicki said.  
  
"I'm sorry, I gotta go." Nicki said. She jumped up and smiled at Selphie as she ran through the door.  
  
Nicki rushed past everyone and ran towards the dorm. She had to get there quick but she didn't want to draw attention to herself. Nicki burst through the doors and ran into her room forgetting to even close the door. She grabbed the cell phone and dialed the number.  
  
As she waited, she walked over and closed the door as she caught her breath.  
  
"Hello?" The commander answered.  
  
"Don't send troops! I'm fine!" Nicki shouted into the phone.  
  
"Nicki? Is that you? Thank god, they were just about to leave." The general replied.  
  
"Good, they haven't gone yet. I'm sorry, I was gonna call yesterday but I was in the hospital. Everything is fine and going to plan." Nicki stated.  
  
"Good, I have to go tell the men now. Over and out." The phone clicked and there was a loud beeping.  
  
Nicki closed the cell phone and put it away. She collapsed on her bed and winced as she landed on her hand. She rolled over onto her back and stared out the window into the mountain. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Selphie peered in followed by Rinoa.  
  
"Phoenyx, you okay?" Selphie asked walking in. Nicki nodded and smiled. Her breath was coming easier now.  
  
"I didn't get to introduce Rinoa at breakfast. Rinoa, meet Phoenyx." Selphie said. Nicki stood up and shook her hand.  
  
"Sorry bout that. I thought I had left something here but I had it all along. Sorry to worry you." Nicki sighed with a smile.  
  
"No problem. Let's go get lunch quick since its about eleven thirty and then we can go to class." Selphie said.  
  
The three girls made it to the food courts and sat down. As Nicki looked around, she noticed that everyone was staring at her and pointing. She couldn't stand it. Nicki sighed and leaned back in her chair.  
  
"You know what guys, I'm not that hungry. I have to talk to Quistis anyway. I'm going to class early." Nicki said standing up. She shoved her hands in her pockets and strode off.  
  
When Nicki got to the classroom, she knocked on the door and Quistis answered. She smiled and they walked in.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you again because you fought extremely well. Especially against one of the best fighters and most dangerous student in the class. You are up in the top three now." Quistis explained.  
  
"Top three?" Nicki asked.  
  
"Squall, Seifer, and now you." She replied. Nicki nodded.  
  
So, there secret weapon, if it's a student, is either Squall or Seifer. I have to see them at work. So far, all I've seen is Seifer and I know he would fit. But now, I need to see Squall. From Seifer's description of their first battle, they were equally matched other than the magic. This might be harder than I thought.  
  
Nicki sat down and fiddled with her computer while students entered after their lunch break. Soon, Squall walked in followed by Seifer. They both sat down. Then Selphie walked in and winked at Nicki. She smiled back.  
  
"Okay class. Today we will prepare for the mission tomorrow. I have paired you up other than Phoenyx, you will come with me. First, Zell and Selphie.."  
  
"Oh great." Selphie said groaning.  
  
"Phoenyx and Irvine. Once I'm done with Phoenyx of course," Quistis continued.  
  
"And, Seifer and Squall. You two better behave." Quistis said. She continued to read off the list but Nicki zoned out. She watched as Squall was typing into his computer. He seemed to be playing a card game. Nicki sighed and looked away. Once Quistis had finished, everyone set off.  
  
"Sorry Irvine, I'll be back later. I have to go with Quistis." Nicki said standing next to Irvine. She walked over next to Quistis who handed her the gunblade. Still, it was marked with blood and the shine was gone where the patches of blood shown through. Nicki swung it, eager to do more.  
  
"Okay, time to get you your first GF." Quistis said grabbing her whip.  
  
"GF?" Nicki asked.  
  
"Guardian Force. You'll see once we get there." Quistis said.  
  
"Who is going to the cave to train?" Quistis shouted.  
  
"I'll come." Irvine said walking over.  
  
Seifer and Squall walked over also.  
  
"We'll come." Seifer said taking a deep breath.  
  
"Squall.?" Quistis asked.  
  
"Hello, Squall? Are you listening?" Quistis repeated.  
  
Squall looked up and glared.  
  
"No, if you want someone to listen, go talk to the wall." Squall replied. Seifer and Irvine snickered. Quistis sighed. She was used to that kind of response from Squall.  
  
"Okay then. The rest of the students must stay on campus to train. I will be back at four o'clock sharp." Quistis said leading the small group out of the classroom. Selphie waved as they left.  
  
"So, I have to go get a GF. What exactly does it do?" Nicki asked.  
  
"We can summon them to use a powerful attack that normally kills an enemy with one blow. You have to pass it to become a See-D rank. That is why I'm surprised you don't have one. Oh well." Irvine explained. Nicki sighed. The five of them left the campus and came to the car. The front seats were separated from the back seats with a wall.  
  
"You all better behave or else." Quistis said hoping in the front seat. The four students got in the back of the car and they were off.  
  
"So what do you have to do to get a GF?" Nicki asked.  
  
"You gotta make it through fire cave. That is where you at least get he first one. You're timed too. If you don't do it fast enough, you get in trouble and you have to give the GF back. You also have to fight the GF. You have to beat it in order for it to follow you as its leader." Irvine replied. Nicki sat back next to her partner and looked up. Squall was sitting on one side of the car, while Seifer was on the other. They were as far away from each other as possible.  
  
"You too, can't you forget the past?" Nicki asked.  
  
Squall and Seifer looked and each other for a moment, then turned away with a grim look on their faces. Nicki groaned.  
  
"Have they always been like this?" Nicki asked. Irvine nodded.  
  
"Seifer finally found an opponent and Squall is the quiet type. Neither really talk to each other and they haven't been stuck on a mission together for a while now." Irvine said.  
  
"Shut up Irvine." Seifer muttered turning to glare at the blabber mouth. Irvine shook his head and looked away.  
  
They were all quiet for the rest of the ride. The car stopped and everyone got out.  
  
"You three boys may train on your own but no helping the girl. She needs to do this on her own. Please, just keep an eye on her though. Phoenyx, tell those two at the entrance that you're hear with me. I'll be in there in a minute, I have to call in." Quistis said getting back in the car to use the phone.  
  
"Follow us." Irvine said leading the way.  
  
The three boys led Nicki into the cave after checking in with the two masters. It was burning hot inside and the temp. kept rising.  
  
"This is where is starts. Fiends will challenge you along the way and you can either defeat them or run. When you get to the end of the maze, your GF will be waiting. Good luck." Irvine said. Nicki shook her head and walked ahead of them. As she walked, Nicki held her dog tags as she felt them grow hotter. As she walked past a mountain of molten rock, she saw the long, bridge like path surrounded by lava. Nicki pulled her hair back into a pony tail and pulled up her sleeves. This wasn't going to be hard. She looked back to see the boys following her.  
  
"Hey." She said crossing her arms.  
  
"We have nothing else to do." Seifer said shrugging. Nicki shook her head and continued to walk. She came across a couple of bomb looking fiends and easily sliced through them continuing on her way. A while later, the path stopped and opened into a small arena of molten rock. Nicki stepped in as the three boys circled around the stage. In the center, red lava began to boil its way through. Suddenly, a huge creature oozed out. It growled and looked at Nicki. It had a red mane and two thick, long black horns. It dug its claws into the ground and roared. Nicki was frozen. She couldn't fight this.thing.  
  
"You can do it Phoenyx! Seifer looked scarier than that! Right?" Irvine shouted. Seifer sighed and watched. Ifrit leaped at Nicki and she just barely stumbled to the side. Ifrit swung around its claws, slicing her left arm. Nicki cried out in pain and replied the attack by driving the blade into its back. The monster cried out in pain and reared off. Its red eyes were glowing with fury. Nicki sliced him continuously until the creature bellowed out and fell to its knees.  
  
"I.have been defeated. Allow me to join you." Ifrit said. The monster turned into a small red gem and clicked into place in the hilt of her sword and there was silence. Jus then, there was a sound of clapping so Nicki turned. It was Irvine. Nicki looked at him pathetically again.  
  
"You've gotta go back now. Look at your arm." Squall said sitting up from a rock. Nicki felt the pain and looked at her arm. Her whole arm was draped with blood. Nicki followed the boys back out of the cave with no encounters surprisingly. Quistis came running up once they were out.  
  
"I'm so sorry. They only allow four people in the cave at a time. Look at your arm!" Quistis said.  
  
"She's tough. Phoenyx can make it." Irvine commented.  
  
"Shut up! This hurts bad." Nicki said holding her arm. They blood was dripping everywhere now.  
  
"Did you guys get enough training?" Quistis asked. They snickered but nodded, knowing the real truth. They then got in the car to drive into town for supplies.  
  
"This won't stop bleeding." Nicki said tightening her grip as they drove down the bumpy road.  
  
"Here." Squall said tossing her the first aid kit. Nicki pulled out a strand of cloth and wrapped her arm. She wasn't going to bother cleaning it first. After a long, quiet ride, they reached the main town. They got out of the car and walked in.  
  
"I'll go buy the supplies for the mission tomorrow. You four can do whatever you want in the meantime." Quistis said walking off. The other four headed off to the harbor. Nicki ran up to the rain and leaned out. She smiled, taking a deep breath. She could smell the salt water and the pain in her arm seemed to go away.  
  
"Seifer, me and Squall will be right back. Keep an eye on that wild girl." Irvine said walking off with Squall. Seifer sighed and walked over to the railing next to Nicki. He looked out across the ocean dotted with seagulls.  
  
"So, you made it look easy back there with the GF." Seifer said. Nicki shook her head, doubting her power.  
  
"I need to ask a question. Who would win in a battle of death, you or Squall?" Nicki asked. She still hadn't seen Squall do anything yet. Seifer paused.  
  
"This is still undecided." He replied. Nicki nodded and tightened the cloth around her arm.  
  
"So, I see that is okay if I use the gunblade." Nicki said looking at it as the blood stains grew in number. Seifer nodded.  
  
"Yep. You wield it better than I." He said pulling his out.  
  
"How long have you worked at the school?" She asked.  
  
"A while now. Can't count." He replied.  
  
"I see. So, who do you know, as a friend, around here?"  
  
Seifer was quiet but didn't answer. Nicki paused and waited through the silence. When he didn't answer, she asked another question.  
  
"Out mission, tomorrow, do we work alone or.?" She asked.  
  
"We either partner up or work in small groups. You'll most likely be with me, Squall, Irvine, Zell, and Selphie."  
  
"I see. Okay. Just seeing how everything works. It's hard being new." Nicki said as she turned and lifted herself up onto the railing. She looked around the small town and watched birds fly by. It seemed to peaceful here. How could her camp want to destroy all this? And if her team did attack, they would be humiliated by school students.  
  
"Do we have to go tomorrow?" Nicki asked.  
  
"Why do you ask? Are you scared?" Seifer asked rubbing in the last word.  
  
"No, I just want to know."  
  
"Well, if you wanna raise your rank, I'd go to the mission. If not, you can flunk the class and do down from a See-D candidate." Seifer stated turning around.  
  
"Back!" Irvine said walking up, followed by Squall.  
  
"Squall, your more on the quiet side, what's up?" Nicki asked with a slight smiled.  
  
"Nothing. I just.don't like talking much. When you don't have to say anything, you shouldn't." He replied. Nicki looked at him surprised.  
  
"Okay, I see." Nicki said done with all of her questions.  
  
Nicki turned to look at the setting sun. The pink and red colors blended together to make an almost peachy color as they melted into the ocean. Then, against the white mountain, Nicki noticed a red, darker than blood.  
  
"Oh my God." She said leaping off of the rail quickly. The others quickly looked at her.  
  
"What?" Irvine asked. Nicki covered her face so they couldn't follow her gaze. She shook her head and slowly slid her hands off as she stared at the floor.  
  
"No, no, no." She whispered falling to her knees.  
  
Squall and Seifer looked at her suspiciously but curious.  
  
"What is it?" Irvine asked.  
  
Nicki couldn't help but glance up again. Yes, she was right. Her army was flooding over the mountain like the blood dripping down her arm.  
  
"Not yet." She groaned. Seifer quickly followed her gaze to the mountain.  
  
"God, there they are." Seifer said pushing off the rail staring at the mountain as the army charged towards the school and the other half towards town.  
  
"It's the enemy." Squall said turning.  
  
"We gotta tell Quistis." Irvine said grabbing Nicki's arm as he started to run.  
  
Irvine and Nicki ran through the small, now deserted town. They soon found Quistis after she had bought more supplies.  
  
"Quistis! The enemy on White mountain!" Irvine shouted pointing to the mountain that laid behind the small school.  
  
"I'll call. Get the four of you together and go head on. Cream those posers while I grab backup from the school. If you can do this, I will free you from the mission tomorrow and bring you all up in rank." Quistis said running to the car. Irvine smirked.  
  
"This will be easy." He said as they began to run back to Squall and Seifer.  
  
"Don't assume anything. That is where you will lose." Nicki said struggling to keep up. It wasn't that she wasn't as fast as Irvine but, something was holding her back.  
  
"Squall! Seifer! We're going head on!" Irvine shouted almost running into Squall.  
  
"Hurry, let's go." Squall said as he led the group out. They passed the car where Quistis was informing the school of the army. Now, the enemy was skipping the school and coming straight for the town. The four students ran out head on, standing in front of the town. There was an army of about one hundred to two hundred soldiers.  
  
"I can't do this." Nicki said stopping as they stood on the grass.  
  
"Come on, we have to go now. Don't stop on us." Squall said pulling her along. Nicki sighed. She didn't want to fight her own brothers and sisters.  
  
"Here they come guys." Seifer said stepping forward.  
  
"Come on you cowards! Bring it on!" Seifer shouted motioning them to come. They now could see the detail in each soldier's face as they charged at them. Some were armed with shotguns, trying to fire at the students, while others had swords. The back row was lined with archers and in front of them were the cavalry. This was a full on army.  
  
"I can't do it." Nicki said falling to her knees. A tear trickled down her cheek as she began to recognize people. Her own cabin mate, Kevin, and then her brother, Sean. She couldn't stand it.  
  
"Get up. We gotta fight." Seifer said looking back at her. Quickly, the army approached.  
  
"I.can't." Nicki said clutching her dog tags.  
  
"Nicki!" A voice called. Then, in the army, a girl ran forward supplied with a shotgun. Nicki shot a death glance at her then, she glanced at Seifer who seemed confused along with the other guys.  
  
"Nicki! Get out of there. Hurry!" Jessica shouted looking directly at Nicki.  
  
"Nicki?" Squall asked turning around.  
  
"I.don't know who she is talking about." Nicki muttered, feeling worse. Her soul mate, her best friend, Jessica, was calling out to her and there was nothing she could do. Once the boys had turned back, Nicki motioned for Jessica to steer left, and she did.  
  
"Get up now or they'll demolish you Phoenyx!" Seifer shouted noticing she was still down. The army seemed to split, half coming to toy with the students and half going towards town. Seifer stepped back and pulled Nicki to her feet. She stood their helplessly. Slowly, she reached down and grabbed her shotgun from her belt, wanting to shoot herself now because it all seemed over.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Seifer asked watching her hold the gun up to her head.  
  
"I can't do this." Nicki winced as she said the words.  
  
"Forget whatever you're thinking about that makes you feel that way. Think about good things now because you need to protect yourself." Seifer said pulling the shotgun away. Slowly, he handed it back to her. Nicki glared at him and shoved it back by her belt and pulled out the gunblade. Now was her chance, if everything didn't end, to see Squall in action.  
  
Nicki suddenly thought of something, if her team knew it was her, she wouldn't get killed. Nicki slid her dog tags out from under shirt and jingled them a little. She didn't know if it would work but it was worth a try.  
  
Nicki put the gunblade back into place, knowing she didn't have the heart to fight herself. She fell back down to her knees.  
  
"Hey, Get up! There right here!" Seifer said looking down.  
  
"Get her up Seifer!" Irvine shouted from a couple feet away.  
  
"Phoenyx, get up." Squall said looking back and forth from her, to the army.  
  
Suddenly, without hesitation, the army pounded down on the students. Irvine shot some of the front members down with his shotgun while Seifer and Squall swung the gunblade and with one slice, they were dead. Nicki watched as her family was smothered. Her friend Jessica, have veered to the side early and wasn't taking part in the battle but looked sadly at Nicki who motioned for her to go back and get out of here now.  
  
"Get up now!" Seifer said slicing someone to the side, holding his position.  
  
"I can't." Nicki replied solemnly.  
  
"Why not?" Seifer coughed out slicing another person to add to the pile.  
  
"I just.can't." She stumbled for words as she wiped a tear away. Seifer bit his lip but continued to destroy the army as they came at him. Nicki looked up and saw that Irvine had the shotgun in one hand and a small dagger in the other in case they got to close. The sound of the bullet as it left the gun was illumining. Then, Nicki looked to watch Squall.  
  
His form was the best she had ever seen. Each time he laid the sword through the air, it always hit in the sweet spot and he always kept the form perfect. He began to make his way through the army, making them seem to dissolve. Part of her heart seemed happy that her team was doing well but the other dropped to the floor to see that they were doing well against her team.  
  
Then, Squall's next moved surprised her. Nicki had never seen anything like it. Squall murmured something before he took off after three soldiers and sliced through them all and three bullets seemed to come out and explode on them. Nicki held her breath as the blood flew everywhere. Now she knew why they called him the secret weapon. That must be the Gunblade's special, Nicki thought. Soon after, the three students had gone through the whole army without a scratch even on them. Nicki sighed, her army sucked at this kind of stuff.  
  
Suddenly, Nicki felt the sword hooked to her belt began to shake. Nicki stood up and pulled it out. The red gem was glowing brilliantly. Just then, Ifrit melted out of the gem and stood tall in front of them all. He took in a deep breath and let out a huge flame covering the dead bodies.  
  
"What is he doing?" Nicki asked.  
  
"It's a ceremonial move." Squall said. Nicki nodded and watched as the bodies burned.  
  
"We have to head in town now. Tell your GF and let's go." Seifer said turning.  
  
"Ifrit." Nicki said beginning to follow Seifer. The beast turned and followed them towards the town where the other half of the army was.  
  
If only I could take back what happened..my family, I am sorry. I didn't expect the general to not get to the soldiers in time. I had called to late. All because of Seifer..Now half of our army is gone, they have perished. All except for Jessica though, she is still alive. I sent her back to camp to tell the general to not do anything until my command or they would lose the rest of our army. Once we made it into town, Seifer, Irvine, Squall and I adjourned by Quistis, continued to demolish my army. I felt so bad, killing my loved ones, I never knew I would have to do something like this to them. I trained with them everyday and look at how I repay them. I feel horrible but now onto the notes for myself.  
  
Squall, highly impressive skills. He shows perfect form along with highly developed skills. He showed me a powerful attack that goes along with the gunblade. Maybe if I approach him I will be able to learn it also with my gunblade that I received from Seifer. Ah, that reminds me.  
  
Seifer is also a powerful enemy. Squall and he fought once but it seems neither one won but as a souvenir from their encounter, both burden a scar between their eyes and a little down their noses. I too, have come out with an injury. On my second day here at the school, Seifer challenged me and we were locked in an arena. He got my blade away from me and I just rolled away from Death. In punishment, I got a scar from one side of my palm to the other. And in return for what he did to me, I gave Seifer a nice, deep scar in his palm. It still hurts but I'm okay.  
  
Then, the next day we went to train for our mission. Quistis took me aside and I received my first GF. It's a guardian force, something our base had never heard of. When I am in trouble, I can summon upon a creature named Ifrit who will come out and help me. I too, got a battle scar from this experience.  
  
After that came something I would have never expected and wish not to write about because it hurts too much. Fighting against myself it seemed, that is all I can say through thoughts.  
  
Anyway, tomorrow is our mission to my camp. Though they haven't discovered me, Seifer almost got a hold of my dog tags when they fell off in town after destroying the last of my team. Luckily, I got them in time. They have my real name, what base I'm from, my birthday, and lots of other stuff about me that would ruin my cover right now. Well, I need to get rest and I need to put this away before Seifer jumps in to say he new all along.  
  
Nicki Quinn  
  
A.K.A: Phoenyx Bloodryn  
  
I set the book with my clothes under the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I was so tired from this whole action packed day and I couldn't take anymore. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door and I jerked up. Rinoa walked in with a smile.  
  
"Hey, I heard you got your GF." She said. I smiled and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I paid a price though." I replied turning and unraveling the bandage on my arm. Then I threw the bloody piece of cloth in the trash.  
  
"Man, that looks bad." Rinoa said looking at it. There were three slices total. One longer than the other two, exactly like Ifrit's claws. I bit my lip as it began to sting again.  
  
"I'm getting beat up at this school." I said standing up.  
  
"Hey, let's go clean that up in the public bathrooms down the hall and then you can come with me. I'm meeting Squall." Rinoa said standing up. I smiled and nodded.  
  
"I'm pretty tired so you're not going to get any action out of me." I said with a laugh as we walked out of my room.  
  
"Is Seifer in there?" She asked.  
  
"Uh, no. I haven't heard him come back yet." I replied.  
  
Rinoa nodded as we walked out of the dorm. We walked down the bathrooms as I filled Rinoa in about the GF and the battle. She smiled and nodded the whole way adding in every once and a while. When we got to the bathrooms, I cleaned out my cuts well, nearly screaming each time we touched it. Finally, when it was clean, we noticed we had nothing to wrap it with. I sighed and decided it would be okay, even if it kept bleeding. So, I grabbed some paper towels and held it on my arm until we found something else.  
  
As we passed the theater to meet Squall, I found Selphie working on the set.  
  
"Phoenyx! Rinoa! What's up?" She asked turning. She had sawdust all over her and two nails tucked behind her ear.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked confused.  
  
"Oh, just working on the stage. Look at your arm though. Was that from the battle? You need to wrap it up." Selphie said with worry. I laughed at her kindness.  
  
"Do you have tape?" I asked.  
  
"Tape?" She asked confused now.  
  
"Yeah, like normal duck tape?" I asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah. It's black though."  
  
"That's fine. Can I borrow some?"  
  
"Sure. Lemme get it." Selphie said jumping over to her supplies. It was late out but she was still working away.  
  
"Here, I hope it helps." She said watching me curiously. The only thing that no one knows is that duck tape is the best thing for a cut. The sticky stuff helps close it and it reduces the risk of a scar even though that would be highly doubtful in my case. I pulled out a good amount and wrapped it tight around my arm. It stung really badly but I have done this before.  
  
"Okay, let's go. I'll talk to you tomorrow Selphie!" I said leaving with Rinoa.  
  
"So, how long have you known Squall?" I asked trying to strike up another conversation with Rinoa.  
  
"Oh, a while now. I can't quite count." She said with a smile as she fingered the necklace she was wearing. It reminded me of how I always fiddle with my dog tags. I always touch them when I'm in a life or death situation. I mean, it serves their purpose I guess.  
  
Soon after we had passed the stage, we came out to the ring looking pathway that lead pretty much everywhere. I noticed an old blood stain from where Seifer and I had come walking to the hospital after our battle. My hand still hurt off and on and it was still healing but, I guess I rush these things. At least I can write. We turned into a training area and I was confused, like I always am.  
  
"Where are we going?" I asked.  
  
"Just follow me. Squall told me to bring you through here. He didn't think you had been here yet." Rinoa replied pushing the door open. I sighed and followed. It was a little humid in there but it wasn't too bad. I noticed it opened out into a garden looking area. I assumed there were fiends of all sorts in here.  
  
"So, you can come in here to train?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, pretty much. We will have to fight every so often trying to get through here but otherwise, once we get to the end there is cool sight. We're supposed to meet Squall there." Rinoa explained as she led the way. This school was so much cooler than the school I went too. But now, my mission was wandering and I couldn't let that happen.  
  
So, I followed Rinoa through the winding path down the forest road. We came across a couple of fiends but they were minor. Then, Rinoa began to warn me about a monster in here called the T-Rexaur. I wasn't too scared, nothing scares me. After slicing through my last enemy for the trip there, we walked through a door out onto a huge balcony. Squall looked up and nodded with a quick smile.  
  
"There you guys are. I thought you'd never come." Squall said standing up from leaning on the rail.  
  
"Well, we're here." Rinoa said grinning.  
  
"Phoenyx, I remembered you wanted to learn that move I used back on the battle field. By the way, how come you didn't fight?" He asked. I paused, wondering what to answer. It was hard to come up with these, out-of-the- blue questions. So, I came up with the lame excuse.  
  
"I..uh.was tired and I couldn't use the Gunblade." I said.  
  
"But you used it against Ifrit."  
  
"I was using my left hand."  
  
"Well, how come you couldn't use it then?"  
  
"Well, my arm hurt. Ifrit sliced my arm, see! This tape isn't there for just any old reason." I replied ending Squall's test with an A.  
  
"Well here, I'll teach you the move. Rinoa, I guess you could pick up something too." Squall said pulling out his gunblade. It was different from Seifer's and mine. It was a lighter metal to wield and it had a lighter color to it too. Also, there was a lion carved in the blade as if passed down through blood.  
  
"Ready?" He asked. I slowly nodded.  
  
*--*~~~*--***--*~~~*--*  
  
"She's learning." Seifer said as he sat on the rail watching as Nicki walked in with Rinoa. He and his two comrades were high above everyone else because they had special access to different rooms for being law enforcers on campus. Though none of them fit the position well, they were getting paid.  
  
"You just met her. How can you say that?" Raijin replied.  
  
"Yeah." Fuijin added.  
  
"Shut up. She is gonna try the move." Seifer shouted watching, highly amused.  
  
*--*~~~*--***--*~~~*--*  
  
"Okay, this is Renzokuken. Watch and learn. Rinoa, I need assistance." Squall said motioning for her to come. He put her in place and told her not to move or she might be dead. Rinoa gladly agreed, with some difficulty, and Squall set up.  
  
"Okay, get into a normal ready position and anticipate the enemy. If they are stationary or not, it will be the same. Then, you yourself run up and slice the target as usual." Squall said walking over and placing his blade against Rinoa's Blaster Edge.  
  
"Then, you pull the trigger on the gun on the blade," He said pulling the trigger. Just then, there was a loud, piercing noise as the bullet left the gun. Squall positioned the blade so the bullet couldn't come out so it blew up inside of the gun which he was very used to.  
  
"Got it?" He asked. I nodded, quite surprised.  
  
"You try it, on me though. I don't want to put Rinoa in that position again." Squall said with a slight grin. Rinoa thanked him and sat out watching.  
  
*--*~~~*--***--*~~~*--*  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I can do the same thing. Squall is just showing off in front of Rinoa." Seifer said watching.  
  
"I doubt Phoenyx can do it. It took Squall forever to master that." Fuijin said joining Seifer as he watched.  
  
"Well, she is a See-D and she does have pretty good skills from watching her. It might not take her too long." Seifer said pulling out his gunblade to examine it. He had cleaned his blade earlier so there were no traces of blood. The lights from the school reflected off of it sending small fairies everywhere. Fuijin and Raijin watched the blade as Seifer ran his finger up it.  
  
"This is the only blade that can accomplish something like that. There were only three created. The Lionheart, Almasy, and the last one is still unknown. I took a chance giving it to her. If this really is her, the lost blood blade is right here before us which means, the three swords might react." Seifer said thinking out loud to himself.  
  
"That's gotta be it. I doubt Squall realized that and Phoenyx is totally oblivious too. This is great. I can use that power." Seifer said grinning. He finally noticed that he was talking out loud and that he was going to miss Phoenyx attack so he stopped and watched.  
  
*--*~~~*--***--*~~~*--*  
  
"Now!" Squall said. I burst out of position and ran towards Squall. I brought down the blade as hard as I could, forcing him to hold strong. And as soon as my blade collided with his, I pulled the trigger. Squall quickly ducked as the bullet soared past his face exploding in a nearby plant. I pulled the blade away and it sparked a little. I had done it, I think.  
  
"Good job. That was great for the first time. I wasn't even able to get the timing right when I first tried it. How did you do that?" Squall asked surprised. I shrugged, it just seemed to come to me.  
  
"I don't know. I just felt the blood in me flow faster and my heart speed up. Everything in me tensed a little as I heard these words flowing through my mind. I can hardly remember and it only happened a couple seconds ago. I felt like I had done it before." I explained confusing even myself. Squall nodded, confused but trying to look like he understood.  
  
"Squall, she did it. You've gotta admit." Seifer shouted from up above. Rinoa, Squall and I turned, surprised to hear his voice.  
  
"Seifer." Squall said looking up.  
  
"Yeah, that's my name. But Squall look, she did it. Can't you think of anything? Doesn't it sound familiar?" Seifer asked trying to make him remember. Squall looked at him as if he was crazy.  
  
"What are you trying to say?" Squall asked. Seifer sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Figure it out for yourself." Seifer said jumping off of the rail and walking away. Squall shook his head and looked back to us.  
  
"I get it. But it can't be true. Seifer is hardly ever right. The three gunblades.No, it can't be." Squall said pulling off a Seifer by thinking out loud. I looked at him, pondering what he said. The three gunblades? Were there only three or something? Maybe there's more behind my gunblade. I have to find this out because it would come in handy when it came time for my army to strike. The true power of the gunblade is yet to be revealed to me. I knew it. I could tell there was more that I did know.  
  
"Wait.what aren't you telling me about the gunblade? I'm not blaming you or anything but, what's behind these blades that makes them so powerful?" I asked. Squall sighed.  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't know yet. Just wait, when the school goes on our yearly trip, then I shall show you." He replied.  
  
"No, tell me now. I have to know. I need to know. Please tell me." I stated sharply.  
  
"You're too stubborn. Let's go." Squall said walking by me.  
  
"Squall, she does deserve to know." Rinoa agreed. I felt happy to have someone on my side at least.  
  
"No, it isn't time. I have to talk to Seifer first. Then I have to talk to Quistis. You can't just give away vital medicine like trash." Squall said walking down the steps leading into school. I sighed and gave up. This just didn't seem like the time to mess with Squall. Maybe I could get answers out of Seifer.  
  
I said my goodbyes to Rinoa and Squall and I thanked Squall for teaching me the new move. It was pretty good for in battle combat saying that I could easily kill three people. But Squall's attack had a name, I wonder what mine is and if it is for the gunblades, Seifer must have one too.  
  
So, I walked down the steps, leading the back way into the school. I passed into a huge stadium area where there was a theater surrounded by seats. Assemblies and emergency procedures must take place here I assumed. I walked down the rows of seats and sat down in a random one. There was silence as I looked up at the night sky. The moon shown brightly down upon me, as if it were spreading its wings of light to scare away the darkness. No, that didn't quite fit the position of the moon, that as more over the sun. The moon was like the lone ranger that stood out against the stars. The one that would make the difference. Then, I wondered. If the moon and the sun were to battle, who would win? I now wondered if they were the only two or if there was a link, or something in between. These thoughts ran through my mind like my blood. I didn't know why I thought of these things but they just seem to come to me at those times.  
  
I slowly closed my eyes as I placed my hand on the gunblade. The coldness sent chills up my arm and through my body. I felt, different here on the campus. Ever since I got this sword, I felt, vainer and I searched more for my goals. I was ready to give up, sitting there in the snow but as I traveled through something worse, such as the Fire Cave, I showed more courage. Was the sword the difference? Was it? I wondered now, what was making the difference in me. Suddenly, I realized what was going on. I was starting to like it here on the campus. The way they did their things, the people that were here; especially the people. I would have to say, I have made a lot of friends here that I would never kill, just like the ones back at my base but who did I stick with? I felt even worse now about the battle, I needed to get it out of my head.  
  
So, I looked back to the moon and watched as the stars floated across the sky. I blocked out everything else, the noises, the movements, everything. I concentrated only on the moon, the stars, and the sky. Though they made no sound and they didn't really move, I seemed to be more fascinated in them than I would be fascinated talking with an old friend. I can't tell the difference anymore. The sky seemed to be talking to me, through some link. What was it saying though? Now, though I go against what I said, I was listening to the moon. It tired to tell me something, was it warning me? Was it teaching me? Or was it trying to tell me what I'm doing wrong? I really can't tell because I can't hear it. So, I sat there, trying to listen to the moon until something else caught my attention. The sky seemed to be melting. I don't quite know how to describe it but, melting seems like the word. As if the whole sky was in a blender, the many shades of dark blue and violet mixed with the gold and white colors of the moon and stars. Combine them and I found that it was a blue liquid dotted with glittering lights, making the whole thing seem as if it were a glowing crystal.  
  
I jolted awake from a quick kick in the shin. I looked around to see that I'd fallen asleep, sounds exactly like something I would do. I turned to see Seifer standing there.  
  
"Hey, you're in my seat." He sighed trying to look serious as he crossed his arms. I grinned and played along with the game. I clung to the arm rests on the chair and sat back.  
  
"Too bad, I sit here now." I said. Seifer shook his head and sat next to me. I relaxed again and stared at the sky. The violet had disappeared a little more and the dark blue was beginning to light up more.  
  
"It's about one in the morning. I always come out here and you just happened to sit in the exact seat I always sit in around now." Seifer said taking it a deep breath. I sighed and continued to stare at the sky.  
  
"So you come out here a lot?" I asked.  
  
"Everyday. I am more of a night person. I can never sleep. I can live with no sleep at all if I could choose but I sneak out every night to sit here and watch the sky seem to, melt." He said. I smiled, he seemed to describe the sky the same way I did.  
  
"Melt, that's how I'd call it too. Melting, into what?" I asked coming up with random questions. I couldn't help myself; it was late at night, well really, early in the morning.  
  
"Melt into what? Well, I don't know." He replied.  
  
"Come on, you can think of something. I at least came up with an answer in my mind. You can do it." I said.  
  
"Well, I'm not in my special thinking chair." He stated grinning. Now we were both goofing around. I stood up and motioned.  
  
"Here Einstein, get in your special chair." I said. Seifer shook his head with a laugh and slid into the chair. I sat down where he was and looked at the sky. It was totally different from another angle.  
  
"Okay now, I see it. It looks like the ocean. The dark blue dotted with white. The water and the gulls, the sky and the stars." He replied. I laughed because I couldn't think of anything else to do. I just felt like laughing.  
  
"You're a totally different person than when I first met you." I said rambling on, not realizing what I was saying. I quickly caught myself and was ready to defend. I almost gave myself away.  
  
"Totally different eh? Or you just hadn't met me all the way." Seifer replied.  
  
"Yeah, you could say that. It's just when I met you, you seemed all collected, and more to yourself but then again you stood out as a leader. Now that I got to know you better, I'd say I have a different look after that battle." I recalled. Seifer shook his head with a smile as if he too, were remembering the battle. Then, I saw him reach down to the whole in his glove that he seemed to be wearing now. It was shredded. So, I snickered to my self triumphantly. I could tell that Seifer recognized that laugh.  
  
"You only won because Quistis stopped us. Next time, I'll get the keys from the janitor, then we'll see who will win." He stated with a grin.  
  
"Next time? I'm not fighting you again. You're out for my blood, you got some of it last time but I'm still alive. Let me rub in those last words. I'm.still.alive!" I said laughing. Seifer glared at me but I knew he was laughing in side. I stopped and looked at him seriously, I knew he couldn't keep the straight face then. Seifer shook his head as if amused and looked away.  
  
"Coward." I said turned my back to him.  
  
"My only goal when I came here was to get my chair and I did! I am number one." He stated.  
  
"Not any longer." I said pushing him to the next seat. I quickly stole the seat from him and gripped the arm rests. He sat up from the surprise attack and waited patiently for just the right moment. I was too scared so I backed out and scooted back to my rightful seat and let him sit in his Einstein chair. After we caught out breaths, I asked the next question.  
  
"So, what were you saying to Squall last night? About the gunblades?" I asked.  
  
"He didn't talk to you? Or you didn't ask." He said.  
  
"No, I asked but he said he needed to ask you first. He said the trip sounded like a better time." Right then, after saying that, I knew I was stupid and I should have said something else because know he is just going to agree with Squall, just wait.  
  
"Oh, okay. I get it. He is right." Seifer replied. Oh, I knew it. I can predict the future. This happens in all of my situations. So, I come back for a counter attack.  
  
"Come on, please tell me. You're the one who gave me the gunblade. Please tell me why." I stated.  
  
"No." He said sharply giving me a look. I looked at him right back.  
  
"Come on coward and face the truth. You're supposed to be a soldier, well, more like a student but.what's the difference?" I asked.  
  
"No more." He said looking at the sky.  
  
"Fine. Here's a random question. Who would win, the Moon or the Sun?" I asked as if addressing these things as people.  
  
"The moon or the sun. That is a good question. I'd say the moon because darkness over comes even the greatest light for where there is light, there comes a shadow. So, if you create light, you create darkness but if you create darkness, nothing can stand in its way, not even the light." He replied saying it with pleasure. I almost began to agree but I was sitting in the middle. Most people would say the Sun because that represents the good that will always win against the evil. And most people assume that the moon is evil because it comes with darkness. But, I can't really agree with either side. Because I don't agree with the theory that good always prevails, I have seen different.  
  
"Where do you ride on that?" Seifer asked.  
  
"On the boarder" I replied, "I don't think either would win because I think there is something in between. Something that can defeat both the moon and the sun but I haven't seen it yet. And just earlier this morning, or even last night, I can't remember, I think the moon was trying to talk to me." I said opening up more now.  
  
"You're crazy. You need sleep. Come on I'd better get you back to the dorms." Seifer said standing up.  
  
"Chair!" I shouted scooting over to look at the sky from this perspective again. The moon glistened at me as if it were talking again. Seifer pulled me up by my arm and shove me down the rows of seats. I stumbled a little from not getting up in so long but I made it back to my dorms.  
  
"Now go to bed. You can only get about five to six more hours of sleep." He said.  
  
"You're not getting me up at six in the morning!" I shouted back at him plopping on my bed. I was tired but I was ready to argue for more resting hours.  
  
"Six it is then. Goodnight." He said slamming my door. I couldn't argue anymore now so I gave up. I needed sleep for this mission tomorrow. I crawled over to my bed and sat down, thinking about the things that went on today. I am so packed lately. Then I realized how smooth things are really going. I hoped there wasn't room service here that came and cleaned up your room. Then I corrected myself, there couldn't be room service other wise Seifer's room might look a little bit different. So, I slowly fell asleep, dreaming about my thoughts.  
  
The next morning I woke up to the sound of Seifer banging on my door. I knew I had talked to him last night and actually held on a decent conversation with him but now he seemed to be his normal self. I wonder if he slept at all after I fell asleep. I got dressed and looked at my watch. Right on time, it was six o'clock. I put the gunblade in place because I know we were going on our mission today but normally I'm not supposed to carry it around, or at least that's what the rule book told be that Quistis sent to me.  
  
I stumbled out the door to see Seifer handing me the black cloak again.  
  
"I assume you still have your gunblade? We were supposed to turn them in yesterday but it seems all of the gunblade wielders look in different ways." He said.  
  
I thanked him and threw the cloak on, covering my sword. I grabbed my new key that I had gotten for the dorm and walked out with Seifer. Again, Selphie was coming out but this time so was Rinoa so both of the girls came along with me.  
  
"Hey guys. I talked with Quistis and she said we can go into town tomorrow after the mission if we do well. We get the whole day off in other words." Selphie said jumping up and down. Seifer shook his head looking down at her pathetically. He seemed to veer off so I looked up and he lifted his chin in a motion for response. I smiled and continued to talk with the girls. I seemed to be the only one wearing my uniform everyday other than Selphie and even she had a different outfit. I couldn't wear my old one or Zell and Seifer would know about me right away.  
  
"We can go shopping and grab some new stuff." Rinoa said with a smile. I agreed that we would meet early again tomorrow so that we could have breakfast in the main town. As we got to breakfast, we grabbed a table and sat down.  
  
"So, it looks like you're borrowing Seifer's cloak again. Are you guys going to fight because I'll have to report that." Selphie said looking at me worried. I laughed and shook my head.  
  
"No, no. I forgot to turn in my gunblade yesterday so I have to hide it somehow. See." I said pulling the side of the cloak away revealing my gunblade.  
  
"Same here. I have my Blaster Edge in my bag." Rinoa said with a smile.  
  
"I got permission from Quistis to carry mine around. I don't really need it though." Selphie said. I finished up eating and gulped down my drink. I wasn't too tried but I wasn't in my best condition either. I should have got more sleep but talking to Seifer was fun, or I should say, funny. After we all had finished, we left for class early. As we walked in, Selphie and Rinoa came over to the computer with me and taught me how to play a game of cards on the computer. They said I could play it with regular cards but I didn't own any.  
  
"We can pick some up in the main town tomorrow. How much money do you have out of your account?" Selphie asked. Then I realized that minor problem about buying things. They cost money. I didn't have anything with me.  
  
"I uh.don't have any money." I muttered. They laughed and asked me again. I repeated my self trying to explain that they could say I was broke.  
  
"You get a salary though as a See-D." Rinoa said. Selphie nodded and agreed.  
  
"Well, I never knew about that. I don't even think I have an account." I replied.  
  
"Here, let's talk to Quistis." Rinoa said. We walked over and I addressed my leader.  
  
"Quistis, Selphie was telling me that we're aloud to go into town tomorrow but I don't have any money and Rinoa said that I'm supposed to be getting paid as a See-D?" I asked trying to explain it all. Slowly, Quistis began to follow me and nodded.  
  
"Yes, you have an account right here. Do you know your password? We have a bank downstairs that you have to type in your ID and password and you can take our money. Right now you have over one hundred thousand dollars." She replied. I gapped. One hundred thousand dollars? She must be kidding because I have never earned that much money.  
  
"No, seriously. How much do I have?" I asked.  
  
"You think I'm lying? It takes stills to get into See-D and you definitely have them. We pay those kind of people to fight for us and protect our school. Right now, you are earning and salary and Seifer is earning more for being a law enforcer on campus. And right now, though you won't be getting paid, it says that your community service starts on Friday." Quistis replied. I sighed, remembering my service. I was stuck with Seifer for a year.  
  
"How long is community service?" I asked.  
  
"Four hours a day." She replied. I groaned. Three hundred and sixty four times four is what? I can't even count. That is over a thousand stinking hours of Seifer. I was feeling really low right now, but also really high.  
  
"At least I know I have money in the bank. But what is my password?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, right here." She said pointing to her clipboard.  
  
"This password also has some information about you that you fill out when you first come to this school. It has a lot of stuff but you don't seem to have one. I'll send the papers to your dorm tonight. Thanks for helping me to see that." Quistis said.  
  
I walked back to my computer and sat down. If that clipboard has all of the passwords that lead to all of the information, I could be in the jackpot. But, all I have to do is steal the clipboard. Maybe tonight or some other night. I clicked on the button and began to play cards again while the seats around me began to fill up with students. When Squall and Seifer hadn't come in after a while, I began to wonder. I quickly wrote a pretty bad handwriting note with my left hand and threw it at Selphie who read it and then passed it on to Rinoa. I asked them if they knew where the guys were but they only shrugged. So, I passed another note saying that I'd go look. So, I pulled off another one of Seifer's moves. I asked to go to the bathroom and I slipped out of the classroom.  
  
I silently walked down the halls, knowing that they would be deserted because students were in there classes. There were students who lived in the main town and came here while others stayed in the dorms. There was not a sound other than my footsteps until I heard voices.  
  
"We'll take them early." a voice echoed through the halls.  
  
"We already have the boy. We just need that girl but we'll never be able to get her out of class." The other replied. Then, I recognized the next voice.  
  
"Well, grab her when they go out for the mission. I need her now before she finds out from another student. We have to keep it a secret." Seifer grumbled to the other two.  
  
"So, where did you put Squall?" Seifer asked.  
  
"Tied up in your dorm. Not in anyone's room." Fuijin stated.  
  
"Good, wait." Seifer said. I froze, thinking he heard my. I had no idea where they were but I had continued to tip toe on my way until I heard Seifer pause. Now I froze, I was afraid he had seen me. I quickly turned around but the halls behind me were deserted. I looked all around me but I didn't see anything. I began to worry because they weren't talking anymore and I now knew Seifer could get anywhere with his label as Law Enforcer on campus. I began to hear footsteps behind me or, the way I was traveling so I quickly stumbled my way through the dark halls until I came back into the classroom. Before entering, I caught my breath and acted like nothing had happened. So then, I slipped in and sat back in my seat for orders.  
  
As Quistis was talking, both Selphie and Rinoa turned back and looked at me as if to get answers. I shrugged when I noticed Quistis looking our way so I motioned for them to look back.  
  
"Now, you are all paired up again because I feel working in pairs is easier than in groups because leaders form then and that is not what we need from students. Work together and you will not die out there. Most of their army is already gone because of the incident earlier but now we must complete our unfinished battle. Students, your weapons are in the storage room but first, your partners." Quistis explained.  
  
"First off, Selphie and Rinoa. You two will be partners. Please get your supplies."  
  
"Zell and Irvine."  
  
Quistis began to read through the list though she never called my name but I wasn't listening for others she hadn't called. I looked up and she motioned for me to come. I stood up and walked over to her desk as the other students grabbed their supplies.  
  
"I have no idea where Squall and Seifer are. Do you?" She asked. I wanted to tell her what I had heard Seifer talking about but I new I would be dead the next time he saw me.  
  
"No, I haven't." I replied.  
  
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd find both of them and meet me outside in the front of the school. I'll wait for you while I send the other members. I have a stronger, more worthy task for you three. I already talked to Irvine and he wished to train, and stay lower for now but I feel you four did well that day. So, if you could do me that one favor that would be great." She said with a smile. I nodded and smiled even though I wasn't smiling inside. Seifer and his two gang members had tied Squall up and he was in the dorm I shared with Seifer and I now knew they were coming for me. So, I am supposed to go look for this guy now? My life is so complicated. I nodded and walked out of the room, waving at my friends as I walked down the opposite hall as them.  
  
As I walked into the light of the hall, I began to shake, feeling worried. They had actually tied Squall up, so is that what they were going to do to me? Well, at least I assumed it was me. I always assume the worst. I was getting so worried now I hardly noticed where I was going so I just followed my feet which took me to the dorms where I at least could find one person Quistis wanted me to get. I unlocked the door and walked in. There was blood along the wood floor and there was Squall, all tied up with a bloody leg and arm. He winced but looked up at me. He couldn't talk for they had covered him up there so I kneeled down and took it off.  
  
"I kinda over heard them talking. Are you okay?" I asked. Squall nodded.  
  
"Yeah, it's just my arm and leg is a little bruised up. I'm not the one bleeding, it was those two law enforcers. I can't even recall their names right now." He said throwing the ropes to the side.  
  
"They're coming for you too. You have to get out of here. Come on." Squall said standing up and taking my arm. I assumed a movie scene would happen now, where Seifer and his comrades came bursting through the door where the bad guys got he lead but to my surprise they just happened to not be there. They must be looking for me among the others to take away secretly. Maybe I can get Squall and I over to Quistis in time so they can't take us away.  
  
The only real link between me and Squall was the gunblade which would put some answers to my questions that were waiting. Squall stumbled out the door and was quickly back to the class. I looked above us at the upper level of school to see two pairs of eyes peering down at us. I glared at them and gave them a rude gesture with my hand. And with that we walked over to Quistis.  
  
"I couldn't find Seifer. Maybe he got called in today for some reason." I said. Squall looked at me surprised that I wasn't blowing Seifer's plan. Quistis nodded and put us in a separate car. I now took advantage of the time alone with Squall to tell him my choice.  
  
"Why didn't you tell her the truth? You said you heard Seifer talking, why didn't you tell her?" Squall asked as he slammed the door shut.  
  
"I don't know. I think Seifer is on to something. What if it is to our advantage to not say anything? We can tell on him anytime." I said.  
  
"You don't care about the missions do you? Where did you come from?" Squall asked. I gulped back a scream. I needed to answer soon and I needed to answer smoothly or he would suspect me right away. I didn't know if I could trust him yet. I don't event think I would be able to trust Selphie either. The car hadn't started and quickly, before I could answer, the door opened again. Zell popped his head in.  
  
"Ho all! A change of plans. We're heading in town for bit. Just us See-D members and all. Come on, let's go." Zell said opening the door more. Confused, Squall and I followed. We got out of the car and walked across the grass. The car hadn't gone far and they could see the other vans in the distance carrying the other kids over the snowy mountain. Quistis approached followed by Selphie, Irvine, and Seifer.  
  
"Good morning Squall, Phoenyx, and Zell. The six of you have worked together I presume?" She asked. We glanced around to see if anybody would deny and after a look from everyone, we just nodded.  
  
"All is well then. I'm not going to partner you all up but I'm putting you in groups. Squall, Zell, and Phoenyx are a group and Irvine, Selphie, and Seifer are a group. Is that clear? Now, your mission. This shouldn't take to long. You're going to meet a group of people after you take the train. I have your tickets. The code is, or so you'll reply, "But the owls are still around." Here are your tickets. I can't tell you more and I'm sorry. Good luck." She said with a smile as she handed the tickets out. Then she left.  
  
"Well, let's get going." Zell said with a grin as he walked towards town. Squall and I glanced at each other and we could tell we were going to avoid Seifer. He was definitely up to something. Selphie quickly ran over and grabbed my arm with a worried look.  
  
"Phoenyx, don't tell me I have to work with Irvine and Seifer. I'll switch with you. Anything but those two!" She shouted. I laughed, but I wasn't going near either of those guys.  
  
"Sorry Selphie, you'll have to face your fears someday and today is your day along with many more coming up." I replied with a laugh. She pouted and clung to my arm glancing at her two partners. Seifer had a slight grin on his face while Irvine just didn't seem to be all here. He was in la-la land as my mother used to say.  
  
Once we reached town, we got on the train and found our See-D rooms quite nice. Our two groups split so me and Squall had time to talk because Zell had run down the hall to grab some food. We knew he wouldn't be back for a while. I happily sat down on the bouncy couches and kicked back. Squall walked in and sat across from me. He put his face in his hands and sighed. I looked at the ceiling and sighed. This was a nice time for a break. I closed my eyes and fingered the hilt of the gunblade.  
  
"So, continuing our conversation. Where are you from?" Squall asked. My eyes jerked open and again, I gulped back a scream. I wished Zell would come running in but he didn't. I sighed and shrugged.  
  
"I've been everywhere." I said with a laugh. Squall gave me and look and sat back unsatisfied. I knew he wasn't happy with my answer but I wasn't going to say anymore. He was quiet while I ran questions through my head. I wondered what to ask.  
  
"I know our mission. We're going to go see Rinoa." Squall muttered. I looked up and nodded because I understood.  
  
"Do you know what we're gonna do?" I asked. He shook his head.  
  
"I need you or I to go outside. We need to split up because if Seifer is seriously after us this is to easy of a catch." Squall said looking up. I nodded and stood up with a smile.  
  
"Maybe I can get something out of him." I replied.  
  
"Don't fall into a trap." Squall stated as I walked out the door.  
  
I walked out into the small narrow hallway with doors on my left and windows to my right. I wasn't sure which room Seifer's group was in so I just leaned against the window and looked out. We had already finished going under ground so now we were traveling across a seemingly endless plain of grass. I sighed and watched as my vision blurred and the sky mixed colors with the grass. I felt a tap on my shoulder so I turned.  
  
"You need to try the food out there. It is so good." Zell said as he shoved a small cake into his mouth. I laughed and crossed my arms.  
  
"I'll take your word on that." I said walking down the hallway.  
  
"By the way. Do you know where the other group is?" I asked. Zell nodded.  
  
"To the left of ours if you were facing the windows." He replied. I nodded and left into the door Zell came out of. I don't think anyone else was on our train so it was empty when I entered the room other than Irvine. It was quite quiet so I sat across from him at the table after grabbing a drink.  
  
"It's so sad that you're in the other group. You should switch with Selphie." Irvine said with a laugh as he tipped his hat. I shook my head and took a sip of my drink. I didn't even want to see Seifer's face.  
  
"Where is your group right now?" I asked.  
  
"Well, Selphie left to go to the bathroom a while ago and Seifer's over there in the corner." He said pointing. I looked over and finally saw him. I hadn't even noticed him. I was ready to sit up and leave when Selphie came running in and sat down next to me. I couldn't leave now or it would look like I was leaving because of her. Irvine seemed to sense it but I could tell he didn't care that I couldn't leave.  
  
"Hey Phoenyx. Zell was just in here if you're looking for him." She said with a smile as she leaned over and grabbed a strawberry off of the table. I sighed and shook my head. It was silent for a while until Selphie spoke again.  
  
"So, are you ready for the mission?" She asked. I nodded. It was quiet again. I could tell she was trying to strike up a conversation. Irvine pitied her and began to try too.  
  
"So Phoenyx, that battle with Seifer, was it easy?" He asked. I glared at him. That was an easy yes or no answer but he could tell I was itching to talk about it. It was a once in a lifetime thing. I sighed and shook my head. Irvine groaned and sat back.  
  
"Tell me how it felt to fight him." Selphie said with a grin. I coughed and sat back. She finally asked me a non-yes-or-no question.  
  
"Good." I replied. Selphie glared at me. I grinned because I was good at this game and neither she nor Irvine could beat me. I was winning until someone turned the tables.  
  
"Offly quiet aren't you Phoenyx?" Seifer called as he pulled up a chair next to me. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up as the breeze blew by he made as he walked over. I gulped and nodded with a smile.  
  
"Something bothering you?" He asked patting me on the back hard with a grin. I gritted my teeth and shoved him to the side.  
  
"No, I'm fine." I said standing up. Now it didn't matter if I left because I didn't care what he thought of me. As I walked out of the room I could hear Irvine and Selphie laughing as Seifer sat back in his chair. I walked down the hall and back into my room to rest. I opened the door to see Zell and Squall talking and Squall nodded at me to say that he hadn't said anything that I would be interested in so I nodded in reply and walked over to the bunk-beds. I pulled out a blanket from a drawer and laid down and quickly fell asleep.  
  
"Phoenyx, oh Phoenyx." Zell said shoving me lightly. I opened one eye and then closed it again.  
  
"You're the most lazy See-D member I've ever met." He said grabbing my arm. Zell yanked and I fell on the floor with a thud.  
  
"Ow! Why'd ya do that?" I asked furious. I slowly sat up and rubbed by nose for I was in pain.  
  
"You needed to get up. Now let's go, the train is gonna leave again and we have to get off." Zell said pulling me to my feet. I groaned and followed him out of the car on the train and out into the bright daylight. I shaded my eyes from the sun because I wasn't really quite awake yet. When my eyes finally adjusted, I found Zell and Squall next to the other group. I sighed and walked over.  
  
"So, where is this guy?" I asked.  
  
"We already found him while you were asleep." Squall said. I shook my head knowing that he was teasing me for being asleep but I shrugged it off and looked around.  
  
"So, where is he?" I asked.  
  
"Back at the car. We came to wait for you and Zell. Come on." Squall replied. The two groups, including me, headed down the stairs of the town and to another small rail road where there was a small owl painted on the side of the train.  
  
"This is it?" I asked. Squall nodded. I sighed and followed him into the car. There were two men and a young girl I recognize.  
  
"Hello Phoenyx, and everyone." Rinoa said with a smile. I grinned because I was no longer alone. Yeah, I had Selphie but she was in the other group. Hopefully we would be separated.  
  
"I have no idea why Quistis put you into groups because each of you will have individual groups." Rinoa said crossing her arms. Our groups sighed and I too crossed my arms.  
  
"Well, let's get started." She said with a grin as she led us into a dark room. She clicked on a light to reveal a table in the middle of a room with a mini model of something.  
  
"This is a familiar mission for Zell, Selphie and Squall. You guys will help watch this time. There will be two sets of cars so Zell, Selphie and Squall will be on one while Irvine, Seifer, and Phoenyx will be on another so they can experience this for the first time." Rinoa explain. I growled and looked to Squall for help. He nodded as if to see my pain but gave me another look as if to say, suck it up.  
  
"Now, the plan. You'll have to disable the five sets of codes. Then, we'll switch the two cars until we get the real ones. This time though, we'll go in and check before we run off with another cart." Rinoa explained pointing to the diagrams on the model.  
  
"So, Squall, you'll do the codes in your group and Phoenyx, you'll do your codes. Seifer and Irvine, you two will watch for the motion and heat guards. If you see them, yell to Phoenyx so she can get her butt up back with you guys quick." Rinoa continued. I nodded and was lead back with another guy to practice typing in codes. It was really easy but I was timed in doing so. It was going to be hard but I assumed I could do it. Hopefully Seifer would actually do his job.  
  
"Well, we have fine minutes to get out there, let's go!" Rinoa said with a smile. She led us out onto the top of the owl train where it slowly creaked and began to move. I shivered as the wind began to blow on me harder and harder. I tried to keep balance but it became hard with the wind.  
  
"Ready?" Rinoa asked. There were now two break offs, one to our left and one to our right. I was going on the one to our left so I was at the edge ready to jump. The cars collided and I jumped followed by Seifer and Irvine. I ran along the top of the cars until I came to the red one. This was the presidents car. I will disable the car with the code and then Seifer would go in and hold the president hostage until everything was good. So, if it was a fraud, we could get out of there quick.  
  
"Ready?" Seifer asked. I nodded and slid down the ladder. I quickly opened the security code and began to type.  
  
"Phoenyx! Back up now, heat sensor!" Irvine shouted. I quickly scrambled back up the ladder and waited until he was gone. I slid back down and had to start over.  
  
"2-3-5-4" I punched in quick and slid back up. I was done. The car clinked and now it was Seifer's turn. He climbed down and into the car. Irvine and I counted to ten and yet he didn't come out so we knew all was good. Irvine and I then ran to the next car to get the president's car free. I slid down and opened the card.  
  
"1-1-1-3" I slammed it closed and nearly jumped up just in time to dodge and heat sensor guard again. Irvine patted me on the back as we jumped back onto the president's car. We waited until the owl train caught up. It sped up in front and the president's car slammed into the back. I hopped down in between the two and linked them, in time giving Irvine the thumbs up. He ran over and linked the back ones and I typed in the security code to lock the doors on both ends.  
  
"5-5-4-4" and "3-3-3-3" The doors clicked and I knew our job was done. I sighed and wiped the sweat off of my forehead.  
  
"Man that was tough." I said with a sigh as Irvine walked up. We headed to the front car and climbed down the ladder into the room. There was Rinoa waiting. She smiled.  
  
"Squall was getting the other car with the prime minister. These two bastards were sneaking away with stolen goods. Once they find their leaders are missing, they'll have no idea what to do. So, we kill both of them and the world is saved from evil people!" Rinoa shouted.  
  
"Well, maybe not kill them." One of her co-workers commented. Rinoa sighed and nodded.  
  
"I guess you're right. Anyway, let's go check on Seifer and then we'll check on Squall." She said opening the door.  
  
I walked in to see three dead guards lying on the floor and the frozen president sitting in his chair staring at Seifer who kept shouting threats at him.  
  
"If you move an inch I'll chop your nose and your ear off. If you move a yard I'll chop your left leg off and then your right arm. And if-" Seifer went to continue but Rinoa cleared her throat. He turned, embarrassed.  
  
"I was keeping him quiet and still." Seifer murmured. Rinoa crossed her arms.  
  
"Now, Mr. President, we need to talk." Rinoa said sitting next to him. I snickered and walked into the next car where Zell, Squall, and Selphie were guarding the prime minister. He looked around with bulging eyes. You could tell he was terrified.  
  
"Please don't hurt me." He pleaded.  
  
"Maybe." Squall replied. The man sobbed and looked at me.  
  
"Please tell them not to hurt me. I'll do anything!" He shouted. Just then, they heard a man cry out in the other room and then there was silence. A couple minutes later, Rinoa walked in with a bloody blaster blade.  
  
"Well, it looks like we need to talk prime minister." She said with a grin. Irvine walked over and leaned on my shoulder.  
  
"How gory was it, rate it from one to ten." I asked.  
  
"Ten." Irvine replied with a laugh.  
  
"You have blood splattered on you." I said with a laugh.  
  
"That's what happens when you stand to close." He said with a smirk. I snickered and turned just in time to see Rinoa send the blade through his head. It fell to the floor with a thunk as the blood stained the carpet.  
  
"Well, that was pleasant." Seifer joked. Rinoa turned and glared at him.  
  
"It isn't an easy thing to do." She replied.  
  
"Well, you're good at hiding it then." Seifer stated as he walked down into the next car which was the food car.  
  
"Well, thanks for your help guys. Feel free to go have some food and relax. We'll bring you back right away." Rinoa said with a smile. I gave her a hug good bye and I walked into the next room, following everyone else. I sat down next to Squall and Selphie and looked across the table, right into Seifer's eyes. They seemed full of evil and I knew it was true.  
  
"What are you up to?!" I shouted unable to control myself. I pointed at him. Squall nearly gagged. He stared at him. I suddenly realized what I had done and that everyone was staring at me so I quickly came up with something.  
  
"Holding your fork like that? What are you up to Seifer?" I asked bringing my hand down. Everyone looked at me confused except for Squall and was praying for mercy in the corner.  
  
"My fork?" Seifer asked.  
  
"Never mind, I just thought you were.going to throw it at someone." I blurted.  
  
"What? Do you want me to?" Seifer asked holding it up next to his head as if to throw it. I shook my head no and slid down so only the top of my head shown over the brim of the table. Squall slid down and joined me as he soon began to recover from his panic attack.  
  
"You're psycho." He muttered sitting back as he placed his fork down.  
  
"Shut up. It takes skills to be me." I growled glaring at him.  
  
"I bet." He laughed. I rolled my eyes and tried to sit still as the train bumped along the old rusty tracks. Wondering what might happen next, I glanced at Squall. He gave me this look as if to say, wait. He always seemed to be able to read my looks. It was, a good thing you could say.  
  
"Where are we going next?" Selphie suddenly blurted.  
  
"Dunno." I responded looking down at my feet.  
  
"Where ever this train stops. Then we'll get the orders from Quistis. She probably has them waiting for us." Squall said as if this happened all to often for him. Suddenly, Rinoa walked in followed by her dog Angelo.  
  
"Finally I get to meet him." I said jumping down to greet the dog. It licked my cheek in greetings also.  
  
"It's Angelo!" Selphie leapt up and kneeled next to me.  
  
"What is it with girls and dogs?" Irvine asked wishing he had the same effect on girls. Seifer and Squall shrugged. Irvine grumbled and sat back and Rinoa sat down.  
  
"Where does this train stop?" Squall asked.  
  
"Timber." Rinoa replied.  
  
"There are no trees falling." Selphie said turning on her heels so she was facing them.  
  
"No silly. Timber is a place." I stated as Angelo jumped into Rinoa's lap. Selphie quickly ran back to a seat and sadly, the only one left was by Seifer. He noticed this and gave me and evil grin. Growling, I sat next to him.  
  
Suddenly the train came to a sharp stop.  
  
"That would be my time to leave. I will definitely see you guys later due to the message I got from Quistis." Rinoa said standing up. Angelo followed.  
  
"Orders?" Squall and I asked.  
  
"Yup. You are to visit the president who is giving of a TV radio message." She replied.  
  
"Wait a sec. Didn't you lop his head off?" Seifer asked very curious. Rinoa shrugged.  
  
"It was a false. We'll get him next time for sure." Rinoa said shoving her hand into the air. Everyone else just sighed. Suddenly, nine Galbadian soldiers hopped out from no where. Startled, the group got into formation a little after only to find themselves right into battle.  
  
"Let's let Phoenyx take care of this." Seifer said backing off.  
  
"Coward." I coughed out as I stepped forward unsheathing my gunblade. The soldiers made a circle around me but I didn't fray. They were in their own fashion and I was in mine. Two stepped forward, one behind me and one in front of me. I assumed they thought they'd go at the same time to surround me but that wouldn't hurt at all. It only ticked me off. Waiting for the last moment, I swung the blade around stabbing the one in front of me and quickly sliding back with my right foot, only to send the man hooked in my blade flying into the other one. Leaping upon them as they hit the floor, I stabbed my sword right through their spines letting the snap go nice clear, crisp, and loud.  
  
Irvine snickered as Rinoa and Selphie turned pale out of disbursement.  
  
Taking down the three that were closest to me, I quickly took the other four down with a flash of fire through their flesh. The seven bodies joined the other two in mere seconds.  
  
"Let's go now. We're getting a crowd." Zell said grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the leaving group. I wiped my bloody blade on my pants and got to me feet and followed Zell into the streets of Timber.  
  
The two groups split up to rest and grab supplies if needed. Rinoa and Selphie went their own directions which was the Pet Shop while Irvine and Zell headed to the Pub to get a drink before we headed out. So, again, I was left alone with Seifer and Squall. But the funny thing was, I could only find Squall. Seifer seemed to be missing. I didn't mind, it was a good thing he was gone.  
  
"So now what? At least we're able to keep an eye on Seifer. What on earth could he do?" I asked.  
  
"I really don't know. We can only think the worst from him and that's what I'm doing right now since we can't find him. I know the couple that lives down by the other train station. We should head down there and if we pass him, at least we know he is still here." Squall explained. I nodded and followed him through the streets with my gunblade close at hand.  
  
"The meeting of two great powers can only end in conflict."  
  
--Devil May Cry  
  
I leaned against the railing of the bridge and stared down into the water below. I watched my gunblade dangle in my hand. Some of it still glittered in the sunlight but most of it now was covered with old dried blood. Some of it was still fresh from a little while ago. I was trying to get my mind off of what Seifer was doing. Squall seemed to be fine with everything. I was the only one tensed. Shrugging it away for the moment, I turned just as Squall walked out of the old shack. He waved good bye and walked over next to me.  
  
"Any sign of him?" Squall asked. I slowly nodded.  
  
"I saw him, or so I thought, through the breaks in the wooden fence on the other side of the creek. See over there?" I asked pointing. Squall nodded.  
  
"He passed by 'bout two minutes ago."  
  
"Okay. If he is off on his own we gotta follow him." Squall said leaning away from the railing.  
  
"You kidding? We can't go alone. Let's get Zell and Irvine."  
  
"Well, we have to. The only way to get back there would be to cross through the back was of the Pub. Irvine and Zell are back there anyway right? We can grab Rinoa and Selphie too." Squall said as he began to walk away. I sighed and followed.  
  
The pub smelled horrible to me. It always had. No matter which bar or pub I entered, it smelled like busted up drunk men and alcohol. The two last things on the world you'd catch me near. Now here I was, walking through. As Squall sat down followed by Rinoa and Selphie next to Irvine and Zell to tell them the plans, I walked over to a guy sitting in front of the door.  
  
"Hey girl. You look trustworthy." He barked at me. I crossed my arms in reply.  
  
"There's this guy who passed by earlier. He told me not to let anyone by. Ya know him?"  
  
"Yup. Why do you wanna know?" I asked.  
  
"Cuz I got a deal for him. He gave me this card and all to make me tell this girl who fits your description," He said after hiccupping, "and then he was like, 'don't let here through here' and he kinda like, winked at me so I was wondering if he was, er, somewhat being sarcastic. So, take this card thingy, I don't even know what it is. Just go through." He said passing out as soon as he was done. I rolled my eyes and picked up the card. It was a picture of the Tonberry. I shoved it on my pocket and turned back to see the group. I felt like telling them what the guy had said and then waiting for them but something pulled me through the door on my own.  
  
A orange tabby cat strolled by and as I glanced at the floor, I saw blood drippings lead behind a pile of crates. Curious, I followed it and found a freshly dead man. Growling, I stormed up a set of stairs in search of Seifer to see exactly why he was killing innocent people. He even went through the trouble of bargaining with a drunk man. There were three sets of stairs and after taking out two soldiers, I was inside this building that I assumed to be the radio tower.  
  
I was amazed by all power plugs and wires and whizzed there way around the place. In the center of a room was the president, the one we didn't kill, getting ready to make an announcement over the newly uploaded TV station. That was the mission I was in once. I just happened to be completing the missions against the Balamb garden. We were to help these two suspicious guys regenerate the tower. For some reason, I didn't feel like completing that mission but, I was getting paid so I did it anyway. I'm not some person obsessed with money it's just, I need to live in this world and the only way to do that is the buy the stuff I need. So, here I was, standing in front of my target.  
  
The camera man counted down from three to one and the bright lights blasted on so we could clearly see the president making his speech. I gritted my teeth. The whole point of helping Rinoa was to stop this. Well, at least I could stop further transmissions. But, I could do something to stop this message from broadcasting.  
  
Just as I was going to hack out the camera man, Seifer jumped onto stage wrapping his blade around the presidents neck. Seconds later, Quistis came running out. I growled and stabbed the camera man and in time, I crashed the camera also.  
  
"Seifer, what are you doing?" Quistis demanded trying not to get close enough to threaten Seifer.  
  
"This is what you wanted? Right Quistis? Right?!" Seifer demanded. The president was frozen, his heart pounding as the blade hovered next to his neck. Then, at that moment, Seifer turned to see me and he laughed.  
  
"I should have known she'd get in here." Seifer said. Quistis turned and shrugged at me.  
  
"Help Phoenyx. Make him stop this," she said turning back to Seifer, "You've got this all wrong Seifer. Put the president down and I'll explain this to you."  
  
"No! This was my job!" He shouted back at her pushing the blade a little bit closer. Now the Galbadian soldiers were surrounding but they chose not to come close to me or Seifer or Quistis.  
  
"Just.Just step back." He barked sliding the president's feet so he walked along with him. I bit my lip and stood there helplessly as Seifer walked into the other room with the president. I tried to run after but Quistis grabbed my arm. The soldiers now gathered on the other side of the filming room. I gave Quistis a stern look and at that moment, the group came running in the door.  
  
"What happened?" Rinoa asked looking around. "Where's the president?"  
  
"Seifer's holding him captive." Quistis replied.  
  
"Damn. Are you serious?" Zell asked. I turned and nodded. Squall bit his lip.  
  
"Let's go." He said charging past me and Quistis. I yanked my arm free and followed right behind him.  
  
Walking into the next room, the president was lying on the floor unconscious. On the other side Seifer was surrounded by a bright purple light as he stepped into the portal.  
  
"No. Squall come on!" I said running. Squall followed right behind while the group stumbled to catch up.  
  
I rolled through the portal while Squall landed next to me. Where we were, I had no idea. I looked up to be face to face with Seifer. I jumped back in horror.  
  
"Seems to me we were followed." Seifer said leaning up. Next to him, was this lady I had seen some time ago.  
  
"Wait a sec." I said. The sorceress stepped into the light and glared at me. My eyes widened as I realized who it was.  
  
"Edea." I muttered. Squall sat up next to me and glared at her.  
  
"I see we were. Send them back through the portal." She said in this all too evil villain voice.  
  
"As you wish." Seifer said holding his hand up.  
  
"No!" I shouted lunging my gunblade forward.  
  
Seifer gasped in pain as my blade sliced into his shoulder. He shuttered and turned to me. My face was pale but inside I was burning with anger. Squall took his chance and swung his gunblade at Edea but she replied with a reflect spell only sending him flying back. Seifer smashed his gunblade down hard on my head with the hilt and kicked me out of the way as I fell unconscious.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I blinked my eyes open to see Selphie and Rinoa both asleep in the chair next to my bed. I sighed and closed my eyes trying to remember what had happened. Ah yes, good 'ol Edea is back. I was questioned though. How was she resurrected? That couldn't bother me now though. She was back and we needed to get rid of her. I groaned to open my eyes again and roved Rinoa's leg. She opened her eyes and smiled.  
  
"She's okay." She muttered shoving Selphie off of her should who woke up with a jerk.  
  
"Phoenyx. You're back. What happened? Squall is still out too." Selphie said jumping onto the bed with excitement as usual. Rinoa pulled her off and laughed.  
  
"I, can't remember right now. Give me a minute or two. Wait, where is my gunblade?" I asked jolting up. My head was covered with sweat as I remembered the look on Seifer's face as my gunblade was jammed hard into his shoulder and possibly all the way through to his shoulder blade.  
  
"Um, maybe Squall has it. He's next door." Selphie replied. I rolled out of bed on the opposite side of Rinoa and Selphie but they barked orders at me and dragged me back into bed.  
  
"No, don't do this! I want my gunblade back!" I shouted kicking my feet as they held me down.  
  
"She's just gonna keep this up. She'll never sleep. Let's let her go." Rinoa said letting go of my right arm. Selphie shrugged and I was already out the door and on my way. Squall looked up as I burst through the door with sweat rolling down my face. He was bent over putting his shoes on.  
  
"Here for your gunblade?" He asked turning back to his shoes. I gulped and nodded as I saw it sitting on the chair.  
  
"What happened?" I asked.  
  
"They put us back through the portal." He replied sitting up, done with his shoes.  
  
"And Seifer bothered to give me the gunblade back?" I asked. Squall shrugged. I didn't really care. At least I had it back. I grabbed the blade and sat down next to him.  
  
"So where are we?"  
  
"Galbadia Gardens. This is where Irvine is from." Squall replied getting up to go. I followed.  
  
Outside the rest of the group was waiting.  
  
"Well, the next thing we gotta do is go to Deling City!" Irvine announced.  
  
"How'd you find that out?" I asked.  
  
"I told him about Edea and her resurrection. She'll be at Deling City again, just as what happened last time. It seems Sorceresses never die." Squall groaned running his fingers through his hair.  
  
"Okay then. Let's go." I replied walking down the hallway. We got on the train we had been taking every once and a while and we were off.  
  
About an hour later, we reached Deling City as the darkness was setting in around us. Cars drove by in a busy manor. Some were trying to get an early parking spot to see Edea. I was very confused by this though. How come people didn't remember last time? Maybe she had brainwashed them I thought. Because we had a mission, I just followed the group into one of the traveling busses and waiting for our stop.  
  
The buss stopped in front of a huge mansion. Rinoa shivered and whished to wait outside but everyone dragged her in anyway. A man stopped us at the gate and asked for us to tell him the code.  
  
"We don't got no damn code!" Zell shouted ready to sock the man. He went pale.  
  
"Excuse him." Rinoa said shoving Zell over.  
  
"I wish to see my father." She growled.  
  
"I'm sorry miss Rinoa. He isn't here right now and he said for me to send your group to the Tomb of the Unknown King. Heard of it?" He asked. Rinoa rubbed her head in anger and nodded.  
  
"My father always does these stupid things. He won't tell us how to get Edea unless we go to the Tomb of the Unknown King and bring back this stupid little code thing." She said turning to us. Everyone seemed to understand so we got back on the buss and rented a car to take us to the tomb.  
  
It only took a couple minutes to get there so once in, the darkness kicked in the cold stone walls.  
  
"It's really really creepy in here." Selphie said clinging to my arm. I glared at her.  
  
"Go hang on Irvine. At least he enjoys it." I said peeling her arm away. Rinoa snickered as Selphie walked over to Irvine and clung to his arm. The shooter didn't mind, he nearly came to a smile. Otherwise, we headed through the maze of walls to find the leaver to switch the bridge. Then I could get my next GF which I was really looking forward to. Otherwise, we found this glowing blue sword with the code.  
  
"I should have memorized that thing by now." Rinoa said whipping out a piece of paper and pen. She jotted down the number as we continued on. Finally, the bridge came down and we crossed over.  
  
"Now, the next GF to get is the Brothers. They can be hard so, do your best." Zell said pushing me forward. I shrugged and trudged on forward. The two Minotaur growled as I approached. One was smaller than the other. I cast a reflect spell right away and readied my gunblade. At first they didn't attack so I cast Demi and that made them quite mad. Charging, I stabbed one, hoping to take out a lot of its health but what I forgot to remember was the fact that there were two of them.  
  
"You'll never beat us!" The shorter one growled. I spit back at him and lunged the blade into his back. He scratched and fall onto the floor and didn't get up.  
  
"No! How could you defeat my brother?!" The older one shouted. I smirked and turned to him. He roared and clawed my back. I shielded my face and then jammed the sword into his chest. He cried out in pain and fell backwards.  
  
"No, how can this be? The brothers, no, this can't be true. We cannot be defeated!" He roared as him and his brother shattered into glowing diamonds that formed into the hilt of my gunblade. Turning on my heels, I faced the group.  
  
"Well done." Squall said turning to leave.  
  
"Wait for me!" Selphie shouted running after. She happened to be examining the mossy walls.  
  
After making it back to Deling City, we told the man the code and he let us by. The house was warm and welcoming.  
  
"How much time do we have left?" Squall asked suspiciously eyeing Rinoa's father. Meanwhile, Rinoa and Angelo sat in the corner wanting nothing to do with the man.  
  
"Please just let Rinoa stay here." He pleaded.  
  
"Well, she's working with us now so we need her." Squall replied trying to reason with the old man.  
  
"How long ago was the last time you were here?" I whispered.  
  
"Two years ago. I was here for the same reason too. This feels so weird. We're gonna kill that wicked witch for good! I swear." Rinoa replied. Selphie and Irvine were sitting in chairs nearby Squall and Caraway, Rinoa's father. They watched the argument go back and forth.  
  
"-She's coming with us and that's that!" Squall shouted stomping his foot on the ground.  
  
"Well then. I won't help you find Edea."  
  
"I don't care. I can find her easily. We can set the same plot up again but this time, we'll have Rinoa with us." Squall said.  
  
"Remember what happened last time to your daughter? It was your entire fault for locking her in there in the first place." Squall explained. This was the first time I had heard Squall talk to such a long period of time.  
  
"Father, I'm just going and I don't even know why we came here. Let's go guys before the parade starts." Rinoa said standing up. It was silent as she grabbed Squall's arm and brought him outside with her. Angelo trotted behind.  
  
"Um, we'll see you later Mr. Caraway." Selphie said waving with a smile as Zell dragged her forward.  
  
"Let's split up into teams." Squall said standing out in the streets as the street lights turned on. The sky had changed from a deep purple to a purplish blue.  
  
"Selphie, Rinoa, and Zell. You guys will drop the gate once they get to that point. Got it? Same thing as last time. Irvine, Phoenyx and I will take care of everything. This time, Irvine won't miss." Squall growled looking at the shotgun shoot. Irvine replied with a sheepish smile.  
  
The streets were becoming crowded with people making their way towards the main center square where Edea would be. Team two, which was Squall, Irvine and I, headed out along with the crowd as Rinoa, Selphie and Zell climbed the latter towards the gate controls.  
  
"If Irvine misses, I'll try." I said trying to cheer up the sharpshooter. Irvine was pale now as we walked among the people. We made our way through the cheering crowd until we were a little below the platform Edea would speak from.  
  
"I'll climb around the back and leave a trail. I'll find the fastest way to get to the carousel." I said taking out a stolen piece of chock. Squall nodded and gave me a shove as I walked off.  
  
I followed the sewer pipes and climbed down below. It smelled so I quickly found the next ladder and climbed up. To my surprise, there were a bunch of crates pilled up high enough to climb. I ran back and marked the ladder I had climbed down and the one that took me closer to the crates. I made a slash on the crates and walked up. The breeze whipped through my hair taking me off balance. Sidestepping, I made my way to the next roof level and left a hash mark behind. I brushed the dust off and continued on.  
  
The breeze whipped my hair in all directions and it was hard to see. Blinking my way, I found a door and cramped in. There was a room and sitting inside, was Edea and Seifer. I immediately held my breath and closed the door without a sound. Luckily, they hadn't seen me. I scrapped the chalk along the wall I followed until I was in a hall. There was a small hatch so I peeked in and there, peering up at me, was a carousel horse. I hashed the latch and brushed my hands off leaving the chalk there. I turned around to see Seifer.  
  
"Boo." He said grabbing my shoulder. I cried out in pain and to my surprise, slipped out of his grasp. I ran down the hallway as fast as I could and I could hear his boots pounding right behind me. I shoved a curtain out of my way and stumbled to a stop as I peered over a balcony in front of the whole crowd. The wind was knocked out of me as Seifer fell right on top of me. I kicked him off and quickly jumped to my feet. I turned so my back was to the crowd. Seifer grinned as he stood up.  
  
"You're cornered now. No one to save you." He said pulling out his gunblade. I glared at him and unsheathed my gunblade.  
  
"The only thing you forgot was I almost beat you last time. I should have killed you when I had the chance." I mocked backing up until my back was fully against the railing of the balcony. The wind ran through my short hair.  
  
"Like you could have killed me. It doesn't matter now. I'll just take care of you now." He said grabbing the collar of my shirt. I swung my gunblade but he knocked it down by his feet. Holding me up, he laughed. I gritted my teeth as he held me out over the edge.  
  
"Phoenyx!" Irvine shouted.  
  
Suddenly, loud and happy music echoed through the streets as the carousel began to lift up. Seifer loosened his grip in surprise and I screamed grabbing his arm. He turned back to me and laughed.  
  
"Come on Phoenyx. I thought you said you could kill me. Now you're clinging to me for your life." Seifer joked.  
  
"This isn't a good time. I know you're up to something. You and Edea." I said hanging onto his arm tight.  
  
"What if I, happened to jerk my arm?" He asked slamming it to the side. I almost lost my grip as I struggled to regain my strength. The carousel was almost fully up now and I could see Squall and Irvine ready.  
  
Just then, Edea came storming out. Seifer sighed and brought me back onto the balcony where I grabbed my gunblade and stared up at him from the floor. He kicked the gunblade pout of my hands and shoved his foot on top of my chest to hold me down.  
  
"Edea. What should I do with her?" Seifer asked.  
  
"Is she strong?" The sorceress asked. Seifer looked at me as I suddenly stopped struggling.  
  
"Even though she is as strong as me, she would never do something for us." Seifer said.  
  
"Do the others value her though?" she asked. My eyes widened as I figured out what she may be planning.  
  
"Now that I think about it, yes." Seifer replied.  
  
I shouted at him and hit his leg as hard as I could, trying to get up and stop whatever was going to happen. The carousel was fully up now and I could tell Irvine was getting ready.  
  
"Don't kill her. Bring her inside. There's a sharpshooter here." She said suddenly casting a spell. Just at that moment, a bullet shot off the shield and flickered down into the crowd. I could hear the faint curse from above. Seifer glanced up to see Irvine and Squall. Irvine with his head in his knees and Squall trying to figure out a way to at least do something.  
  
I knew I was done for. I couldn't do a thing. Without taking his foot away, Seifer sheathed his gunblade and picked up mine, giving it to Edea who walked back into the room. Then, my rival looked down at me and at that moment, I felt my defeat. He took his foot away and I slowly stood up, knowing I couldn't even try to run away now. I was in the hands of the Sorcerer.  
  
"No! Phoenyx!" I heard Squall shout as Seifer grabbed my arm and lead me into the room. I hung my head down low. 


End file.
